Parenting and Parent-Child Relationships in Chile

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to review scholarly literature and theory related to parenting and parent-child/adolescent relationships in Chile. Consistent with most other societies, families play an important role in Chilean society, a fundamental aspect of which is the parent-child relationship. Strong family bonds are not unique to Chile, but play a vital role in the socialization of the young and as protective factors throughout the life span. Consequently, this chapter begins with a brief over-view of the country itself and then an introductory description of Chilean society and family life. This is then followed by an overview of parenting and parent-child relationships in Chile that is based on previous studies as well as insights from existing data sets (e.g., the Global School-Based Student Health Survey Chile from the World Health Organization 2012 and the Cross National Adolescent Social Competence Study; Bush et al. 2002 ; Ingoldsby et al. 2003). Chile Chile is a country that is fairly easy to recognize on maps because of its unique shape, location and size. Stretching approximately 2,600 miles along the Pacifi c Ocean across 38° of latitude from its northern borders with Peru to its southern borders with Argentina, Chile is the longest north to south trending country in the world (Central Intelligence Agency 2012). With the average width of the country being just 110 miles, and the widest being 250 miles, the ocean and mountains always seem in reach. The World Factbook from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimates the 2012 population of Chile to be just over 17 million people, with almost 90 % of the population living in urban areas. Prior to colonialization