Within- and between-person and group variance in behavior and beliefs in cross-cultural longitudinal data. (January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Deater-Deckard, Kirby; Godwin, Jennifer; Lansford, Jennifer E.; Bacchini, Dario; Bombi, Anna Silvia; Bornstein, Marc H.; Chang, Lei; Di Giunta, Laura; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Malone, Patrick S.; Oburu, Paul; Pastorelli, Concetta; Skinner, Ann T.; Sorbring, Emma; Steinberg, Laurence; Tapanya, Sombat; Alampay, Liane Peña; Uribe Tirado, Liliana Maria; Zelli, Arnaldo; Al-Hassan, Suha M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of adolescence. Volume 62(2018)
• Page Start: 207
• Page End: 217
• Publication Date: 2018-01
• Subjects: Acculturation -- Adolescence -- Families -- Multilevel modeling; Adolescent psychiatry -- Periodicals; Adolescent psychology -- Periodicals; Adolescence -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 305.23505
• DOI: 10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.06.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0140-1971

Abstract

Abstract: This study grapples with what it means to be part of a cultural group, from a statistical modeling perspective. The method we present compares within- and between-cultural group variability, in behaviors in families. We demonstrate the method using a cross-cultural study of adolescent development and parenting, involving three biennial waves of longitudinal data from 1296 eight-year-olds and their parents (multiple cultures in nine countries). Family members completed surveys about parental negativity and positivity, child academic and social-emotional adjustment, and attitudes about parenting and adolescent behavior. Variance estimates were computed at the cultural group, person, and within-person level using multilevel models. Of the longitudinally consistent variance, most was within and not between cultural groups—although there was a wide range of between-group differences. This approach to quantifying cultural group variability may prove valuable when applied to quantitative studies of acculturation.