Psychological Responses to Social Change: Human Development in Changing Environments [Reprint 2020 ed.] 9783110877373, 9783110143430

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Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence 18

Special Research Unit 227 - Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence An interdisciplinary

project of the University of Bielefeld

conducted by Prof. Dr. Günter Albrecht,

Prof. Dr. Otto Backes, Prof. Dr. Michael

Prof. Dr. Detlev Frehsee, Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Heitmeyer,

Prof. Dr. Klaus Hurrelmann

Prof. Dr. Franz-Xaver

Otto, Prof. Dr. Helmut

Kaufmann,

Prof. Dr. Hans-Uwe

Brambring, (Coordinator),

Skowronek

Psychological Responses to Social Change Human Development in Changing Environments

Edited by Peter Noack, Manfred Hofer and James Youniss

W DE G Walter de Gruyter • Berlin • New York 1995

Peter Noack Assistant Professor of Education, Chair of Education II, University of Mannheim, Germany Manfred

Holer

Professor of Education, Chair of Education II, University of Mannheim, Germany James

Youniss

Professor of Psychology, Washington, DC, USA

Life Cycle

Institute, The Catholic

University

of

America,

With 20 figures and 41 tables © Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Psychological responses to social change : human development in changing environments / edited by Peter Noack, Manfred Hofer, and James Youniss. X, 254 p. 17 x 24 cm. - (Prevention and intervention in childhood and adolescence ; 18) ISBN 3-11-014343-7 (alk. paper) 1. Social change - Psychological aspects - Congresses. 2. Family - Psychological aspects - Congresses. 3. Life change events - Psychological aspects - Congresses. I. Noack, Peter, Dr. II. Hofer, Manfred. III. Series. HM101.P9283 1995 303.4-dc20 94-35215 CIP

Die Deutsche Bibliothek

-

Cataloging-in-Publication

Data

Psychological responses to social change : human development in changing environments / ed. by Peter Noack... - Berlin ; New York : de Gruyter, 1995 (Prevention and intervention in childhood and adolescence ; 18) ISBN 3-11-014343-7 NE: Noack, Peter [Hrsg.]; GT

© Copyright 1994 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printing: WB-Druck, Rieden. - Binding: D. Mikolai, Berlin. - Cover Design: Hansbernd Lindemann, Berlin. Printed in Germany.

Preface The present volume originates from a symposium on Macrosocial Variations, Families, and Adolescent Development held in Reisensburg (International Center for Scientific Cooperation Schloss Reisensburg), Germany, in June, 1993. A multidisciplinary group of psychologists, educationalists, and sociologists met to discuss human and family development in times of social change and cultural diversity. Given the different theoretical backgrounds, foci of research, and methodological approaches represented even some of the participating scholars did not expect an exchange as fruitful as it turned out to be. Guided by pragmatical reasons as well as by the aim of topical coherence, not all papers presented at the symposium are included in this volume. Neither are the lively discussions. Still, the book gives a comprehensive overview of positions, ideas, and findings representing the agenda of the four stimulating days we experienced in Bavaria. Well aware of the individual quality of the following chapters, we consider the combination — and partly juxtaposition — of perspectives particularly instructive. We, thus, hope that readers rather than looking at certain chapters addressing their personal research interests try to approach the issue of human development under conditions of social change the way the participants of the symposium did it, i.e., cutting across disciplinary boundaries and narrowly focused research questions. As may become obvious from our own final discussion, we cannot promise strict integrative conclusions. If the book is able to trigger some new ideas and insights, helps to open perspectives not readily applied to one's own work before, raises questions, and motivates the desire to learn more about the topic, its major goal would be reached. The participants of the meeting, presenters as well as observers, who are not represented in this volume greatly contributed to the scholarly success of our discussions in Reisensburg as did those colleagues who contributed their chapters. We would, therefore, expressly thank Michael Fingerle, Klaus Hug, Hanns Ullrich Jahn, Sandy Jackson, Keiko Takahashi, and Sabine Walper. The symposium and this resulting publication was made possible by the generous support of the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk (VW Foundation). We are particularly grateful for the unbureaucratic help of Dr. Hagen Hof of the foundation. Likewise, we appreciate the smooth cooperation with the De Gruyter publishing company and, particularly the support provided by Mrs. Ralle and Mrs. Stefan. We also would like to mention Mrs. Reck and her staff at Schloss Reisensburg who managed to provide the right atmosphere for our meeting. Finally, we want to thank for the technical assistance in the preparation of this book. Miranda Yates, responsible for the language editing of the next, had to bear with what non-native speakers did to her mother tongue. Doris Rodemerk went

VI

Preface

through the painstaking work of preparing the final manuscript. After this venture she knows that compatibility of word processing programs does not mean whatyou-convert-is-what-you-get. And Oliver Greuling did the final proof reading. All their efforts are highly appreciated.

August, 1994

P. Noack M. Hofer J. Youniss

Contents

Introduction

Human development under conditions of social change James Youniss, Peter Noack & Manfred Hofer

1

Parti The Times are Changing - Patterns and Impact of Historical Development

Psychological constructions of social change James Youniss

9

Refraining concepts of development in the context of social change Connie Flanagan

23

American adolescents' views on family and work: Historical trends from 1976-1992 John Schulenberg, Jerald G. Bachman, Lloyd D. Johnston & Patrick M. O'Malley

37

Part II Changing Context - Immigrant Families with Adolescent Children

Educational climate and intergenerative transmission in Turkish families: A comparison of migrants in Germany and non-migrants Bemhard Nauck

67

Adaptation patterns of parents and their children in the U.S. and Canada Ilija Zivkovic

87

German immigrants in Germany: Adaption of adolescents' timetables for autonomy Rainer K. Silbereisen & Eva Schmitt-Rodermund

105

VIII

Contents

Part III Bringing Together an Entity - The Sample Case of East-West Unification

Adolescents and their parents facing social change: families in East and West Germany after unification Peter Noack, Manfred Hofer, Bärbel Kracke, Elke Klein-Allermann

129

Career and family orientations of East German women in times of change Barbara Bertram

149

Social life of children in a former bipartite city Hans Oswald & Lothar Krappmann

163

Part IV Growing Up in Different Contexts - Cross-cultural Perspectives

Parent-adolescent relations in changing societies: A cross-cultural study Gisela Trommsdorff

189

Searching for the future in different environments: A comparison of Australian, Finnish and Israeli adolescents' future orientations, explorations and commitments Jarik-Erik Nurmi, Rachel Seginer & Millicent E. Poole

219

Conclusions

Microsocial variations, families, and adolescent development: Individual and collective ways of dealing with and shaping social change Bärbel Kracke & Elke Klein-Allermann

239

Contributors Bachman, Jerald G., Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA Bertram, Barbara, Deutsches Jugendinstitut, Stallbaumstr. 9, P.O. Box 74, D-04155 Leipzig, FRG Flanagan, Connie, University of Michigan - Dearborn, Behavioral Sciences, 1125 University Mall, Dearborn, MI 48128, U.S.A. Hofer, Manfred, Universität Mannheim, Lehrstuhl Erziehungswissenschaft II, Schloss, D-68131 Mannheim, FRG Johnston, Lloyd D., Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA Klein-Allermann, Elke, Universität Mannheim, Lehrstuhl Erziehungswissenschaft II, Schloss, D-68131 Mannheim, FRG Kracke, Bärbel, Universität Mannheim, Lehrstuhl Erziehungswissenschaft II, Schloss, D-68131 Mannheim, FRG Krappmann, Lothar, Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung, Lentzeallee 94, D-14195 Berlin, FRG Nauck, Bernhard, Technische Universität Chemnitz-Zwickau, Lehrstuhl Soziologie I, P.O. Box 964, D09009 Chemnitz, FRG Noack, Peter, Universität Mannheim, Lehrstuhl Erziehungswissenschaft II, Schloss, D-68131 Mannheim, FRG Nurmi, Jari-Erik, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 4, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland O'Malley, Patrick M., Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA

Oswald, Hans, Freie Universität Berlin, Institut fur Soziologie der Erziehung (WE 03), Arnimallee 11, D-14195 Berlin, FRG Poole, Millicent, Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3186 Australia Schmitt-Rodermund, Eva, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Fachbereich 06 - Psychologie, Otto-Behaghel-Str. lOf, D-35394 Giessen, FRG Schulenberg, John, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1248, USA Seginer, Rachel, School of Education, University of Haifa, Haifa, 31905, Israel Silbereisen, Rainer K., Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, 110 Henderson Building, University Park, PA 16802-6504, USA Trommsdorff, Gisela, Universität Konstanz, Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät, Fachgruppe Psychologie, P.O. Box 5560 D 14, D-78434 Konstanz, FRG Youniss, Jim, Life Cycle Institute, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D C. 20064, USA Zivkovic, Ilija, Life Cycle Institute, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064, USA

Introduction Human Development under Conditions of Social Change James Youniss, Peter Noack & Manfred Hofer Change affecting diverse aspects of life is a characteristic feature of modern industrial societies and seems to take place at an ever faster pace (Flora, 1986; Zapf, 1987). To many, technological development may be the most salient example. Likewise, markets are becoming more international and countries are moving closer together due to improvements in communication and transportation. At the same time, the typical course of individual biographies has taken on a different pattern than used to be one or two generations ago (Beck, 1986). While the socioeconomic family background determines, for instance, occupational trajectories to a lesser degree today, there is also more instability of worklife with cycles of employment and unemployment and changes between different jobs being more frequent than in earlier times. The role of women in society and patterns of gender relationships are still other instances of change. Lately, several of these trends have been further accelerated by processes such as advances in the European integration, the collapse of the former East Bloc, and large scale poverty-driven migration. German unification and its consequences may combine more facets of accelerated social change than the situation in other countries. It is, however, only a prototypical case of what is going on in most industrial democracies. Given the political importance of how people respond to social change and master resulting demands, investigations into this issue are surprisingly rare. This is particularly true of developmental scholarship. Even though repeated calls for a contextualization of development (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1974) had a remarkable impact on the field, the scope of most research is still confined to proximal environmental conditions and their effects on the individual. Disregarding the considerable progress of cross-cultural psychology (Brislin, 1983; Kagitcibasi & Berry, 1989; Thomas, 1993) for the moment, distal contexts, namely what Bronfenbrenner (1979) coined the "macrosystem", have largely remained neglected. Naturally, other disciplines such as cultural anthropology or sociology have have invested more interest in changes on the macro level and their effects on members of society. A particularly influential example is a research tradition initiated by Elder's (1974) enquiry into how family life and children's development were affected by the severe recession which hit the U.S. in the 30s. His analyses as well as those which followed singled out economic processes as the dimension of change in focus. Despite this limitation, the seminal character of this research makes it a major reference point for the study of social change in general still today as can be seen in several contributions to this volume. Increases in the knowledge about the ways in which people respond to the

2

J. Youniss, P. Noack dé M. Hofer

modernization of society, however, would be of major importance. On the one hand, they could considerably enhance the basic understanding of family and individual development. On the other hand, a broader empirical basis could contribute to the successful mastery of pressing social and political problems. Life in increasingly multicultural societies, the education of the young and their preparation for the demands of the future, and concerns about a decay of values and morale are but a few examples of issues which are on the agenda. This situation provided the background for a small group of social scientists mainly from Germany and the United States who gathered for three days to discuss their research on responses to contemporary social change. The goal was to bring together scholars from several disciplines such as psychology, sociology, and education who pursue different objectives of study in order to share information on the same issue: Development under conditions of societal transitions. One major focus was on families with adolescents in which parents face the difficult task to prepare their offspring for life in a changing world. In many families this could mean that mothers and fathers are supposed to provide their children with "social capital" (Coleman, 1987; Youniss, 1989) which may not be readily at their own disposal. The research discussed in this group captured four kinds of macrosocial variations and the present volume is organized to represent these four categories. Three sections include work directly addressing different instances of change: History, migration, and East-West unification. The fourth section adds a crosscultural dimension to the volume by drawing upon the probably most advanced tradition in psychological research which is devoted to the study of life under varying macrocontextual conditions. Each of these aspects was viewed from the perspective of the people who confronted social forces and had to make decisions of how to respond to them. Individuals are not seen as passive objects of societal influences, but as actively shaping their lives and, thus, ultimately contributing to the course social change is taking. Only in the second place, we were interested in, for example, whether and how immigrant groups assimilate to their new homeland. Instead, our major focus was on how these people cope with the intraindividually realized change of their larger context. Another example is cross-cultural comparison. From our perspective, information on similarities and differences between cultural groups per se is only of secondary importance. We consider cross-cultural research as an instructive approach to the identification of dimensions which could contribute to the understanding of responses to social change. Culture-specific value orientations and normative timetables for biographic transitions will be discussed as likely candidates. It is reasonable to think of social change and constructive human responses through the framework of a general movement toward modernization-individualization and various reactions to it. We take the point of view that it is best to analyze this range of responses not with a priori hypotheses, but with an open-

Human Development under Conditions of Social Change

3

ness to learn how humans interpret and construct ways to serve their interests during times of change. Although it would be ideal to give a statement about universal components of this process, we are still at the stage of needing to study varieties of change and creative responses at individual, family, and group levels. We may, thus, seem to lag behind the state of research and theory development addressing, for example, coping processes when we refrain from straightforward claims postulating the adaptational value of specific strategies. Instead, our program is to explore which responses to change turn out to be constructive in a given situation. Advances in research on control attributions and coping support our approach. Findings documenting the possible value of "defensive pessimism" (Norem & Cantor, 1986) and the risks of "self-handicapping" strategies (Jones & Berglas, 1978) underscore the necessity to think over earlier certainties and consider subtle distinctions. In the research that we now report, responses to change are shown in four major areas of life: Family organization, parental relationships with youth, workemployment, and women's roles. Historical change. Youniss explores the case of 19th century changes in textile manufacturing to identify a line of sociological thinking that seeks to avoid determinism by looking for varieties of human responses to macro social structural change. He proposes that structural shifts provide opportunities which persons then construe and deal with according to strategies that serve their interests. Flanagan describes a study of auto workers and their families who face economic uncertainty during the industry's current restructuring. She looks at family adjustments as well as responses being made by the auto workers' union which has to view workers, not just as earners, but as life-time learners with the right to continuous education. Schulenberg reports results from a unique set of data which indicate that American adolescents have changed their conceptions of family life over the past 17 years. During this period, demographic statistics for American families have changed markedly in terms of women's roles and relations toward husbands and children. Schulenberg's results provide new evidence that youth have been sensitive to these changes and have come to value females' desire for autonomy and individuality. Migration. Nauck presents data on patterns of family organization of Turkish guest workers who have lived in Germany from one to three generations. He reports that many Turkish men have retained their traditional family values, especially with regard to sons, while many Turkish women have adopted a more liberal family outlook, especially toward their daughters. The data are compared and supported by results from men and women in contemporary Turkey which indicate traditional values are retained even as social forces provoke accommodations. Zivkovich reports a study of three groups of Croatian immigrants to the U.S. and Canada. One group appears to have moved quickly into professional positions while holding on loosely to their Croatian traditions. At the other

4

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+

=p< .10; * =p< .05; ** = p< .01; ***=/>< .001; Bi=Bali; Bk=Batak; J=Japan; G=Germany; S=Scotland.

than adolescents from traditional/collectivistic cultures (Balinese, Batak) and more often than adolescents from individualistic/modern cultures (Germany, Scotland) (/ = 1.79, p < . 10 and / = 2.91, p < .01, respectively) (see Table 2). Parents' behavior. With respect to conflicts between adolescents and their parents (situations 1-4), analyses indicate that significant differences between the five cultures occured, (F = 2.22, p

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