Actual, ideal, and expected relatedness with parents across and within cultures

Abstract

Differences in actual, ideal, and expected relatedness with mothers and fathers were explored across two cultural groups (i.e., university students from the U.S. and Turkey) in Study 1, and across two socioeconomic status (SES) groups (i.e., high school students from the upper and lower SES in Turkey) in Study 2. In both studies associations of perceived relatedness with individualistic and collectivistic value orientations as well as with self-construal types were also explored. Results indicated cultural groups to be quite similar in actual relatedness, but to differ in expected and ideal relatedness, with Turks reporting more relatedness. In Turkey, lower SES adolescents reported more relatedness in ideal and actual conditions than upper SES adolescents, while they did not differ in expected relatedness. Results involving self-types and value orientations pointed to both cross-cultural similarities and within-cultural diversity in relatedness. Theoretical implications of the differential impact of culture, SES, self-construals, and value orientations on actual, ideal, and expected relatedness are discussed.