Cultural Bias in Parent Reports: The Role of Socialization Goals When Parents Report on Their Child's Problem Behavior

Abstract

It has been called into question whether widely used screening instruments for child mental health can provide comparable results across countries and cultures. Socialization goals can influence whether and to what extent a parent considers a behavior to be problematic and thus might influence parental reports on their child’s behavior. We tested comparability of parental reports between native German (N = 116) and Turkish origin (N = 77) parents in Germany in an online study using a vignette approach. Parents were asked to rate the perceived problem severity of the same behavior depicted in the vignettes. We expected and found that parents of Turkish origin in Germany rate the externalizing problem behaviour depicted in the vignettes as more problematic compared to native German parents. The effect was fully mediated by parental approval of the socialization goals obedience and collectivism. We also controlled for social desirability responding and an extreme response style.