Socialization for Peer Competence

Too often, when minority groups are included in studies, participants are of low socioeconomic status, adding to the assumption that they lack the ability to function in society due to cultural deficits. But, there are a number of minority groups in the U.S. that have prosperous lives not defined by the Euro-American culture. Iranian Immigrants are one such group. The social coaching and style of Iranian Immigrant mothers residing in the U.S. were studied in a cultural psychology framework for their contribution to preschool children s peer competence. Thus, Iranian Immigrant mothers cultural beliefs regarding childrearing practices were examined. 20 mother-child dyads participated in two tasks. Assessments of children s social development were obtained using the SCBE rating scale. Results indicated small associations between mothers coaching and socialization style to children s peer competence. Some associations were found between mothers Cultural Beliefs System to coaching and to socialization styles. A qualitative analysis of the data explored socialization strategies not captured by the quantitative evaluation.