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Behavioral Sciences
Special Issues
The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development
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The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Developmental Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 October 2024) | Viewed by 8269

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lucía Alcalá

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA
Interests: prosocial development; executive function skills; planning and problem-solving; cross-cultural comparisons; indigenous communities
Dr. Guadalupe Díaz Lara

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Child and Adolescent Studies, College of Health and Human Development, California State University, Fullerton, CA 92831, USA
Interests: dual language learners/english language learners; latinx parents; access to social service; latinx parents leadership development; parenting; educational experiences
Dr. Paula Alonqueo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, University of La Frontera, Temuco 4780000, Chile
Interests: indigenous children; cultural development; collaboration; language acquisition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Decades of research have used Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) communities to build an understanding of what children’s development looks like, often taking what is culturally specific as universally normative, leading to biased results. As researchers around the world challenge the deficit framing of minoritized children’s development and the limitations of basing our understanding of development on WEIRD samples, our need to broaden our understanding of the role of culture on development and what optional development looks like has become crucial to creating a more inclusive developmental science.

Additionally, previous research has established the intricate link between culture and children’s development (Cole). However, the influence of culture has recently been acknowledged as not only having a macro influence on children’s development, but also their micro influence on their environments (Velez-Agosto et al., 2017). The historic focus of culture as a macro influence and the consistent framing of culture as a potential deficit influence for children’s development have limited our ability to value and explore the intricacies of these interrelated processes, and how they can support children’s healthy development. Therefore, we are obligated to explore the dynamics of these interrelated processes and how culturally situated developmental goals and values guide children’s everyday experiences and their interactions in their specific social and physical environments if we are to truly understand the development of minoritized children.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to select a representative set of empirical articles that attempt to shed light on how culture (including social and physical environments) impacts children’s everyday experiences. The articles can take a multidisciplinary perspective (psychology, education, anthropology, cognitive neuroscience, etc.), address various aspects of development (language, social, emotional, cognitive, moral, and prosocial development, as well as academic achievement), and various environmental factors (e.g., parenting, community practices, education, and accessing services)

We welcome all submissions related to the above-mentioned topics from various underserved communities around the world with particular attention paid to BILPOC communities (Black Indigenous Latinx and People of Color).

The tentative completion schedule is as follows:
Abstract submission deadline: March 25, 2024
Notification of abstract acceptance: April 15, 2024
Proposed submission deadline: October 16, 2024

Dr. Lucía Alcalá
Dr. Guadalupe Díaz Lara
Dr. Paula Alonqueo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • culture
  • child development
  • cultural variation
  • environmental influences
  • BILPOC

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 717 KiB  
Article
Unlocking STEM Identities Through Family Conversations About Topics in and Beyond STEM: The Contributions of Family Communication Patterns
by Remy Dou, Nicole Villa, Heidi Cian, Susan Sunbury, Philip M. Sadler and Gerhard Sonnert
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(2), 106; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15020106 - 21 Jan 2025
Viewed by 563
Abstract
Research shows that family conversations about STEM topics positively influence children’s STEM identity development. This study expands on these findings by exploring how family conversations beyond STEM content contribute to this development. Specifically, we focus on how non-academic forms of family support—as described [...] Read more.
Research shows that family conversations about STEM topics positively influence children’s STEM identity development. This study expands on these findings by exploring how family conversations beyond STEM content contribute to this development. Specifically, we focus on how non-academic forms of family support—as described by students who face systemic racial discrimination in STEM—shape these conversations. In this way, we extend existing work by exploring the extent to which families’ dispositions to talk about a wide range of topics—not just in STEM—might further support youth identification with STEM fields. Using Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) to guide our analysis, we examined data from a survey of first-year college students (n = 1134) attending Minority-Serving Institutions and public universities in the United States. The survey asked students to reflect on their childhood conversations and their current sense of identity in STEM. Using structural equation modeling, we found that family disposition to engage in conversations about a broad range of topics was linked to more frequent STEM-related conversations during childhood and, in turn, greater identification as a “STEM person” in college. These findings highlight the complex ways that family communication patterns can support construction of an individual’s sense of themselves as a STEM person in later years. By interpreting these findings using FCPT, we highlight the nature of family communication patterns that can contribute to STEM identity formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
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16 pages, 285 KiB  
Article
Resilient Cultural Practices in Mexican Immigrant Families: Children’s Helping and Parental Goals and Aspirations
by Angélica López-Fraire and Maricela Correa-Chávez
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(1), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15010050 - 8 Jan 2025
Viewed by 498
Abstract
This study examined 20 parental interviews of third-grade children in U.S. Mexican-heritage families in California, focusing on their children’s helping at home, parents’ goals for their children, and the values they hoped to instill in their children. The families varied in their experience [...] Read more.
This study examined 20 parental interviews of third-grade children in U.S. Mexican-heritage families in California, focusing on their children’s helping at home, parents’ goals for their children, and the values they hoped to instill in their children. The families varied in their experience with Learning by Observing and Pitching In (LOPI), a way of organizing learning that is consistent with the traditions of Indigenous and Indigenous-heritage communities of the Americas. Based on previous research in Mexico, we expected to find differences between the families related to familiarity with middle-class ways of organizing learning (associated with increased schooling) or familiarity with LOPI. Instead, we found that children in all families were helping at home and that when parents spoke about the goals and values they hoped their children remembered, they consistently spoke about the importance of community, family, and respect in a pattern that is consistent with the ideas of LOPI regardless of increased school experience. We explored the idea of resilient cultural practices in immigrant communities and the development of a repertoire of cultural practices, drawing on multiple traditions in different situations. This contributes to the idea that different cultural forms of organizing teaching and learning need not be mutually exclusive. It also supports the idea that efforts aimed at continuing historical cultural traditions can maintain these cultural practices over generations, even in the case of migration and increased participation in other cultural institutions (like school). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
17 pages, 289 KiB  
Article
Becoming a Caregiver: The Role of the Environment in the Process of Children Becoming Responsible for Others
by Carolina Remorini
Behav. Sci. 2025, 15(1), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs15010049 - 7 Jan 2025
Viewed by 625
Abstract
This article aims to illustrate the pivotal role that the environment plays in early child development (ECD), drawing upon data derived from the ethnographic research on children’s daily routines. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were conducted over the course of several fieldwork periods [...] Read more.
This article aims to illustrate the pivotal role that the environment plays in early child development (ECD), drawing upon data derived from the ethnographic research on children’s daily routines. Participant observation and in-depth interviews were conducted over the course of several fieldwork periods (2013–2018). The concept of “mutual raising” is employed to examine the daily interactions between middle-aged children and their domestic animals. To gain an insight into how children develop sophisticated and ecologically relevant skills to become autonomous and responsible for the care of others within the context of environmental interdependence, we present and analyze a cultural practice that is salient to the identity and way of life in rural communities of the Andean region in South America: becoming a shepherd. Considering the aforementioned findings, it can be posited that being able to care for others represents a significant developmental milestone. This discussion highlights the limitations of the dominant theoretical and disciplinary lens through which ECD is currently studied, those so-called W.E.I.R.D societies. Consequently, it is imperative to advocate for an integrative and transdisciplinary framework for ECD studies that incorporates anthropological evidence and the cultural experiences of children and families who have been historically marginalized by dominant ECD models. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
21 pages, 548 KiB  
Article
Applying an Indigenous Connectedness Framework to Examine Environmental Risk and Protective Factors for Urban American Indian Children’s Executive Function Development
by Alexis Merculief, Monica Tsethlikai and Felix Muniz
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1202; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14121202 - 14 Dec 2024
Viewed by 906
Abstract
Indigenous frameworks suggest environmental risk and protective factors for American Indian (AI) children’s development can be understood in terms of connecting and disconnecting forces in five domains: spirituality, family, intergenerational ties, community, and environment/land. This study examined the prevalence of these forces among [...] Read more.
Indigenous frameworks suggest environmental risk and protective factors for American Indian (AI) children’s development can be understood in terms of connecting and disconnecting forces in five domains: spirituality, family, intergenerational ties, community, and environment/land. This study examined the prevalence of these forces among 156 urban AI parents and their children (mean age = 10.69, SD = 1.92) and investigated associations with child executive function (EF). Parents reported on three disconnecting forces (parent stressful life events, discrimination, and neighborhood risks) and two connecting forces (knowledge of tribal history and engagement with cultural beliefs and traditional practices). Parents rated children’s EF using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), and a subsample of children (n = 81) provided self-report EF data. Controlling for income and child age, connecting forces (parent engagement with cultural beliefs and traditional practices and knowledge of tribal history) were associated with higher parent-reported and child self-reported EF, while disconnecting forces (discrimination and neighborhood risk) were related to lower child EF. Findings highlight the protective role of cultural connectedness for urban AI children’s cognitive development, and the importance of centering Indigenous theory in risk and resilience research with AI families. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
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12 pages, 588 KiB  
Article
Perception Matters: The Influence of School Ethnic Racial Context on Ethnic Racial Identity Development for Black Adolescents
by Amirah Saafir and Sandra Graham
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 872; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14100872 - 27 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1466
Abstract
In the current study, latent growth curve modeling is used to explore growth in ethnic–racial identity (ERI) commitment from 9th to 12th grade as a function of two aspects of the school ethnic–racial environment—perceived representation among peers and perceived discrimination from peers. The [...] Read more.
In the current study, latent growth curve modeling is used to explore growth in ethnic–racial identity (ERI) commitment from 9th to 12th grade as a function of two aspects of the school ethnic–racial environment—perceived representation among peers and perceived discrimination from peers. The participants included 237 students that self-identified as African American (Mage = 14.7; 50% female). The results showed that perceiving more Black peers at school buffered the negative impact of racial discrimination from peers on ERI commitment. Further, the positive impact of perceived representation remained significant even after controlling for other markers of school ethnic–racial context including objective representation and school ethnic–racial diversity. The findings have implications for the environmental factors that support ERI development as well as how we study and conceptualize the influence of the school ethnic–racial environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
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15 pages, 490 KiB  
Article
Attention Paid by Children of Rural Mapuche, Urban Mapuche and Non-Indigenous Chilean Backgrounds to Interactions Directed at Others
by Rebeca Muñoz and Paula Alonqueo
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(8), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14080689 - 8 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1252
Abstract
This study aimed to establish differences in third-party attention through a toy-building activity among children between 9 and 11 years old from three cultural backgrounds: Rural Mapuche, Urban Mapuche and non-Indigenous Chilean. It was also examined whether third-party attention is related to learning [...] Read more.
This study aimed to establish differences in third-party attention through a toy-building activity among children between 9 and 11 years old from three cultural backgrounds: Rural Mapuche, Urban Mapuche and non-Indigenous Chilean. It was also examined whether third-party attention is related to learning a previously observed activity. Third-party attention involves maintaining two or more foci of interest simultaneously without losing attention and or interrupting the course of a task. It is of interest to study because it may undergo changes as a result of exposure to schooling. Given that these groups differ in cultural practices and years of formal schooling, the hypothesis was that it might be possible to identify differences in their attention patterns. The results showed that it seems like practices of Rural Mapuche families encourage third-party attention much more so than the other groups; therefore, the learning of skills arises in constellations of cultural practices that involve children’s living conditions and guide their development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
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20 pages, 790 KiB  
Article
Understanding Working Memory and Mathematics Development in Ethnically/Racially Minoritized Children through an Integrative Theory Lens
by Dana Miller-Cotto, Andrew D. Ribner and Leann Smith
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14050390 - 6 May 2024
Viewed by 1735
Abstract
Limited research on working memory has centered on ethnically/racially minoritized children, thereby limiting researchers’ abilities to draw conclusions about working memory or to provide additional supports in cultivating working memory for these children. Using the Integrative Theory as a lens, the current study [...] Read more.
Limited research on working memory has centered on ethnically/racially minoritized children, thereby limiting researchers’ abilities to draw conclusions about working memory or to provide additional supports in cultivating working memory for these children. Using the Integrative Theory as a lens, the current study explored the predictive benefit of parent academic socialization strategies on the working memory and subsequent mathematics skills of a nationally representative sample of ethnically/racially minoritized children. Using structural equation modeling techniques, a path model including social position; family structure; leisure activities; parent academic socialization strategies; and their association with kindergarten Asian/Asian-American (N = 1211), Black (N = 1927), and Latine (N = 3671) children’s working memory and first-grade mathematics skills were examined. Furthermore, multigroup moderation was used to test for differences between ethnic/racial groups. Connections to social capital theory, community cultural wealth, and culturally relevant interpretations of the study findings are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Interaction between Cultural and Environmental Factors in Children’s Development)
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