Early Socialization Contexts and Social Experiences of Infants in Rural and Urban Gujarat, India

In this study, the early social experiences of infants from a rural, traditionally agricultural community are compared with those of urban infants of the same region. Using spot observations, infants'daily social experiences were assessed when they were about 3 months of age. Based on overarchi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cross-cultural psychology 2005-11, Vol.36 (6), p.717-738
Main Authors: Abels, Monika, Keller, Heidi, Mohite, Prerna, Mankodi, Hina, Shastri, Jigisha, Bhargava, Shruti, Jasrai, Sucheta, Lakhani, Aruna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Babies
Caregivers
Carers
Caring
Gujarat India
Mother-Infant interactions
Rural areas
Rural-Urban differences
Social experiences
Socialization
Sociocultural factors
Urban areas
Young Children
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Summary:In this study, the early social experiences of infants from a rural, traditionally agricultural community are compared with those of urban infants of the same region. Using spot observations, infants'daily social experiences were assessed when they were about 3 months of age. Based on overarching sociocultural orientations, the authors expected rural and urban caregivers to provide their infants with the same amount of body contact, kissing, and body stimulation. Based on different educational profiles of the caregivers, less eyetoeye contact, exclusive attention, and object stimulation by rural compared to urban caregivers were expected. Differences between mothers and other caregivers in their interaction with the infant and during distress and nondistress waking states of the infant were explored. The results confirmed their expectations partially. Urban infants experienced more eye-to-eye contact and more exclusive attention but also more body contact. There were no differences in kissing, body stimulation, and object stimulation.
ISSN:0022-0221
1552-5422
DOI:10.1177/0022022105280511