Beliefs about Child-Rearing and Development in Spain and Peru. A Comparative Analysis for Adapting Parenting Support Programs

Migrant families who settle in host cultures may find themselves in situations of vulnerability which hinder the exercise of their parental responsibilities. While there are many support programs targeted at these families, they are n ot always sensitive to the acculturation process. This article compares beliefs about child-rearing and development in Spain and Peru, with the aim of enabling interventions to be adapted to the cultural characteristics of Peruvian families living in Spain. To this end, 43 Spanish and 39 Peruvian professionals and parents participated in a Delphi process, in which they ranked issues corresponding to four topics: child and adolescent needs, functions of the family context, functions of the school context, and the value of childhood and adolescence for society. The results revealed many similarities and some differences between the cultural parenting knowledge of Spanish and Peruvian families. The implications of these results for adapting parenting support programs to migrant Peruvian families are discussed. Specifically, the article concludes that Peruvian families require special support in two areas: establishing rules and limits for children and parental involvement in the school, both of which are key aspects for promoting parenting practices which are better adapted to the families’ new cultural context.