Drivers of Multifaceted Parental Involvement: The Role of SES versus Child-Rearing Values

Abstract

Parenting today is increasingly challenged by the pervasive digital content delivered through various devices and channels. Cross-national research has consistently demonstrated that cultural, religious, and socioeconomic factors influence parental values and preferences regarding child-rearing. However, much less is known about how these values are enacted in everyday parenting practices within families. This study examines the relationship between parenting value preferences, social status, and the multifaceted home-based parenting practices. We hypothesized that parents with higher socioeconomic status and postmaterialist value preferences would engage in multifaceted home-based parenting activities. Moreover, we expected value preferences to be a stronger predictor than socioeconomic status. We analysed data from a large-scale Hungarian survey (KINCS Value-Creating Child-Rearing 2020, N=1156) using binomial logistic regression. Clusters of parental social status and factor-analysed dimensions of value preferences were included as covariates. Contrary to our hypothesis, parenting value preferences showed a stronger association with home-based parenting activities than socioeconomic indicators. Unexpectedly, traditional rather than postmaterialist values emerged as the strongest positive predictor of parenting diversity in the home.