Gendered Morality and Familial Authority: Socio-Cultural Correlates of Parenting and Moral Identity in Pakistan

Abstract

The stage of emerging adulthood is culturally-constructed, but there is a relative lack in research on how this stage is influenced by socio-cultural systems such as gender roles and family systems in collectivist societies. With its powerful collectivist culture, Pakistan is an ideal environment to examine these associations. This study examined the influence of gender, family structure (nuclear vs. joint) and parental education on the perceived parenting styles, family communication styles and internalization and symbolization of moral identity among emerging adults in Pakistan. A cross sectional sample of 500 university students at Faisalabad, Pakistan (266 females, 234 males; Mage = 21.4) and self-report measures were filled. Independent samples t-tests and ANOVA were used to analyze data. Analysis found that males reported greater authoritarian and permissive parenting, and greater moral symbolization, whereas females reported greater internalized moral identity. Joint family participants also reported significantly greater authoritarian parenting, conformity-oriented communication, and moral symbolization compared to nuclear family participants. Parental education showed minimal significant effects.The results highlight an essential role of traditional socio-cultural scripts in comparison with socioeconomic determinants in the formation of family interactions and the sense of moral self in Pakistan. This highlight the essential requirement of culturally-based models of developmental psychology and practice.

Keywords: Parenting Styles, Moral Identity, Family Communication, Emerging Adulthood, Pakistan, Gender Differences, Collectivist Culture.