Cross-Cultural Child Development for Social Workers by Lena Robinson

Author:Lena Robinson [Robinson, Lena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780333726105
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 3368009
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2007-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Power distance

People within each culture develop ways of interacting with different people according to the status differential that exists between the individual and the person with whom he or she is interacting. Power-distance (PD) refers to the degree to which different cultures encourage or maintain power and status differences between interactants. Cultures high on PD develop rules, mechanisms and rituals that serve to maintain and strengthen the status relationships among their members (Hofstede, 1980, 2001, 1984, 2001). In traditional Chinese culture, ‘children are taught not to speak until spoken to. Patterns of communication tend to be vertical, flowing from those of higher prestige and status to those of lower prestige and status [and] in a therapy [social work] situation, many Chinese clients, to show respect for a therapist [social worker] who occupies a position of higher status, may respond with silence [and] may be perceived [by the social worker] as being inarticulate and less intelligent’ (Sue & Sue, 2016, p. 226).

Cultures low on PD, however, minimize those rules and customs, eliminating if not ignoring the status differences that exist between people (Hofstede, 1980, 1984, 2001). Hofstede (1980) found that the Philippines, Mexico, Venezuela, and India had the highest score on the PD dimension, while New Zealand, Denmark and Austria had the lowest marks on that dimension. Britain had a relatively low score, reflecting some degree of minimizing of power differences.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.