DO CHILD-REARING VALUES IN TAIWAN AND THE UNITED STATES REFLECT CULTURAL VALUES OF COLLECTIVISM AND INDIVIDUALISM?

Eighty-one middle-class mothers of 3- and 4-year-old children from urban cities in Taiwan and the United States were interviewed about their child-rearingv alues. Three methods were used to assess values: openended probes, Likert-type ratings, and orderingof values accordingto importance. Child-rearingv alues could be grouped into five broad categories: individuality, achievement, proper demeanor, decency, and connectedness. U.S. mothers’ child-rearingv alues were somewhat consistent with an individualistic orientation, yet they considered values associated with connectedness to be most important. Taiwanese mothers’ child-rearing values were less focused on any specific category. Findings from the three methods suggest that child-rearingv alues in Taiwan and the United States cannot be dichotomized as collectivist or individualist. Mothers in the two societies embraced both individualist and collectivist values.