Abstract
Objective
Maladaptive parental attributions for their children’s behavior have been linked to poorer parenting skills, heightened child internalizing and externalizing difficulties, and parents’ less willingness to engage in treatment. Although most parental attributions research has been focused on White or European-origin parents, attention has recently turned to ethnic and cultural groups that are underrepresented literature. The present scoping review synthesized existing work on parental attributions among ethnocultural minority and immigrant parents in an adopted country and parents residing in their native non-Western country of origin.
Method
A systematic search of five databases was conducted for literature published up to and including the last week of December 2020. Title and abstract screening, then full-text screening, identified 18 records for inclusion in the review.
Results
Although descriptive, single-culture studies showed that maladaptive parental attributions were associated with poorer parenting and child outcomes across cultures, studies comparing ethnocultural groups demonstrated differences in parental attributions across groups.
Conclusions
Despite the rise in and importance of literature on parental attributions, these results point to a limited scope in understanding parental attributions of ethnocultural minority, immigrant, and country of origin parents. Gaps identified in the literature point to promising future research directions, and a call is made for culturally sensitive parental attribution measures.