A social class and racial background comparison of some aspects of early child training practices in a rural Indian and White village

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A SOCIAL CLASS AM) RACIAL BACKGROUND COMPARISON OF SOME ASPECTS OF EARLY CHILD TRAINING PRACTICES IN A RURAL INDIAN AND WHITE VILLAGE

Bar James Philip Judge

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Department of Child Welfare, in the Graduate College of the State University of Iowa June, 1950

ProQuest Num ber: 10598593

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The writer is deeply indebted to Doctor Vincent Nowlis whose patience and guidance have made this study possible and to Doctors Updegraff and Irwin for their helpful suggestions in the final formulation of the manuscript.

Inadequacies which remain

are the sole responsibility of the writer# Gratitude is extended to Hiram Clarke, Superintendent of the Standing Hock Indian keservation in Worth Dakota, and many Indian and white friends for their cooperation in the original gathering of data.

TABLE OP CONTESTS Page

m m *im m m

Chapter X

Introduction * * • • # » # * * * » * * • + » * • « • #

Chapter XX

Early Training Practices

15

Chapter XXX Infant Egperienees as Related to Child Behavior Chapter IV

Summary and Conclusions

X

•

• * •

66 88

Appendix Bibliography

* * * » • * * * • * « • * * » * • « • •

iH

• 106

m m OF FX0ORES Pam Figure A

Om typical temporal constellations of weaning factors , * * * * * * . • • • * * • . * . • * «

. . *

3?

Figure 2

Age of weaning Ibr children who were breast fed only*

39

Figure 3

Age of weaning for children who were bottle fed only*

i*5

Figure h

Age taken from the breast either to bottle or to wean for children who haw© been breast fed one month or more * » * • * « * • * ? * « • • * • * * • •

lid

Age of weaning for all types of cursing escperi©uc©j bottlef breast or combination * • « * * * • • • • + *

k?

Figure 6

Age of introduction of .cup.

........

1*8

Figure ?

Age of introduction of cereal •

........... * . .

52

Figure 8

Age of introduction of foods other than cereal* * » •

53

Figure 9

Age of beginning day bladder training • • • * • * * •

$6

Figure 10

Age of completion of day bladder training * * * * * *

5?

Figure 11

Age of beginning bowel training . . » » » • • » * • «

58

Figure 12

Age of completion of bowel training * • « * , * * • *

$9

Figure 13

Age of completion of night bladder t m ining * * * « •

60

Figure 5

lw

table OST

TABLES Bags

Table X

Percentage of Blood Distribution of Indian Mothers*

fable H

Rationality Backgrounds of the AsiericaiHbom White Mothers Expressed in Percentages * • » • • » * • • • *

26

Distribution of Social Class Indices for Indian and White Children in this Study . . . . . . . . . . .

2?

fable IV

Mean Age Bata in Months for Training Practices* * *

29

W e

Sources of Variation as Sheen by Analyses of Variance for Training Practices •

30

Tests of Significance (t) for Culture-Class Com­ parisons of Training Practice©.......... . . . . . . .

31

Percentage Incidence of Various Typm of Feeding and Analysis of Differences Between Class le v e ls and Cultures

32

fable XXI

V

Table VI

Table VII

Table V H I

* •

* «

23

Percentage Incidence of Schedule Type and Mean Ratings for Culture and Class Level * * • « • * • • • * • • • •

3$

Percentage Incidence of Weaning Types and Mean Matings for Culture and Class Level •

1*1

Weaning Experience (Mean Rating) as Related to Cursing Method by Culture and Glass L$vel . . . . . . . . . . .

2*2

'ihble XI

Mothers Reporting Sm& Difficulty in Cup Introduction »

1*1*

Table XII

Incidences of Food Rejections as Reported by Mothers * *

$0

Table XIII

Social Classes Ranked for Rigidity of Bach Practice and for Overall Tendency to Rigidity . . . . . . . . .

62

Social Classes Ranked for Rigidity of Practice on the Basis of Significant Differences Between Social Classes • • * * « . * * * * * • * * ........ . . * * *

6k

Incidence of Konnutritlonal Sucking by Culture and Class ........... * • « • • * • • • . . .

70

Table IX

Table X

Table XIV

Table XV

v

page fable XVI

Tbble X V H

Sax, Class, Age, Grade and Race Distribution of the Children Rated for Dependency and Aggressive­ ......... ness,

Tli

Average Ratings for Dependency Trait Components by Social Class and Culture •

77

Table X V I H Sources of Variation as Shown by Analyses of VariSBEiee for Dependency • Table X33C Table XX

Tfeble X U Table X H I

76

Tests of Sigjiifioance (t) for Culture-Class Com­ parisons of Ratings of Dependency Components « . • * *

19

Average Ratings for Aggression Trait Components by Social O jmhi and Culture,

81

Sources of Variation as Shown by Analyses of Variance for Aggression............

82

Tests of Significance (t) for CiXLtore-dass Com­ parisons of Ratings of Aggressive Consonants * * * • • « 83

Table X X 2 H Social Classes Ranked for Dependency Components on the Basis of Significant Differences Between Claeses * • • 3U Table XXI?

Obtained Versus Predicted Social Class Ranking for Rigidity of Practice, Dependency and Aggression » . • • 85

Yi

1

Chapter I INTRODUCTION

Early child training practices are emphasized in personality theory and clinical analysis*

Although stressed as fundamental, relatively

little is known of the experience of children with their parents in the home and much reliance has been placed on clinical anamnesis in this area (14, 15, 27). Several studies have indicated that practices vary demonstrably in cultural and subcultural groups in relation to peripheries associated with characteristics such as race and social class level (6, 12, 45). Parent practices seem to reflect subcultural patterns and create learning conditions peculiar to socialisation into particular social groups*

This

study is primarily designed to yield comparative factual data on aspects of nursing, weaning and toilet training which are often emphasized as cru­ cial to personality development (15, 36).^

Data were obtained by interview

1* These aspects are restricted to those which are most readily quanti­ fiable such as ages of occurrence and ratings of rigidity of practice*

of mothers and rating of children on two social class levels in a group of American Indians and a group of whites*

Some consideration is given to

nonnutritional sucking, dependency,and aggression in so far as the practices investigated may constitute learning background for these habit patterns*

2

Lois Jack (19) developed an interview form for the measurement of parent attitudes and practices.

Her interest was in rating the ef­

ficiency of parent practices (on a scale based on the opinion of selected experts) and the change in such practices and attitudes following a course in parent education.

Since the concern was not with the experi­

ences of the child per se. the data are not reported in a form yielding systematic information on the learning conditions of childhood.

The

interview form, however, is excellently formulated and could be adapted to such purposes. Anderson (l) in the first large scale investigation of its kind reports data on many minute details of early childhood experience gathered by country wide interview of 2,758 white and 202 Negro mothers. The results are presented largely in normative form for age and socio­ economic status with a minimum of statistical analysis.

This lessens

the value of the study since no tests for the significance of differences between groups are applied.

Typical topics are; sleep, bathing, feeding,

thumbsucking, toilet training, and many others.

Results pertinent to

this study will be presented later. Workers in the field of anthropology have reported the most data on the facts of infant experience.

Methods have been far from

standardized consisting saltatorily of participant observation, inter­ view of informants, etc.

Many of these studies have been on primitive

tribes in obscure parts of the world and some on relatively unacculturated groups in the United States such as certain Indian and Negro sub­ cultures.

Studies, giving the most explicit description of method and

3

reporting of results will be briefly discussed, Wayne Dennis (7) reports on the early life of the Hopi Indian following six months of participant observation over two summers in a small Hopi village.

The report is in narrative form with some general­

ised description by age level. ple enumerations.

Statistics are few and confined to sim­

There is no report on the number of children observed

or the number and type of informants, his conclusions.

Dennis tends to be very modest in

The Hopi child is nursed on demand and the breast is

frequently used as a pacifier.

Very few babies are weaned, before the end

of the first year, some may be nursed to 7 or 8 years, but this is rare, A mother may put powdered chili on her breast or turn the child over to its grandmother in order to wean it.

No toilet training is attempted

until the child is able to walk and to understand a few words. expected to quit wetting his bed until 2 years of age.

He is not

There is further

discussion of child life sufficient to fill a small book.

The most def­

inite conclusion made is that Dennis is amazed to observe that Hopi children tend to show the same reactions as white children under similar stimulus conditions e.g. cry when hungry or hurt, show anger when frus­ trated, etc.

The report is too generalized to be of much scientific

value, Gordon McGregor (30) studied the Sioux Indians and their chil­ dren on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

Information about 166

children was obtained through intelligence and personality tests, and interview of children, parents, teachers, and others in the communities. Interviews were concerned with health, early training, family relations,

k behavior and interests*

Aside from this general designation of areas

covered, no description of technique is given*

Presentation of results

is in topical natural history form with no statistical tables or even simple analysis* ethnic groups*

No comparisons are made between Indian groups or other It appears, in general, that habit training begins later

in the Indian than in the white society and proceeds at a more leisurely rate.

There is some inroad of white concepts through Indian agency doc­

tors and nurses.

Most mothers breast nurse their babies and schedules

are seldom followed*

Age of weaning fell into a range from 9 to 36 months

with the majority falling in a period of 11 to 18 months. are slowly introduced*

Solid foods

little sucking of fingers is reported.

Toilet

training is a simple procedure and few mothers recount difficulty in this area*

When children can walk, diaper or underpants are left off so that

the child can go to the toilet as he pleases. havior is by watching others use the pot*

Much training in this be­

A tendency is noted for toilet

training to be more rigid than was formerly the case. Kluckhohn and associates (21) have Investigated the family life of the Navaho Indian on a reservation in New Mexico since 1936.

Indians

having less contact with white civilization or relatively more primitive were selected*

A core group of 48 infants, equalized for sex, and born

in the years 1936-36 were observed from that time to the present*

The

method is described as short sample observation by multiple observers (18 persons of varying qualification) using the natural history approach. It was like wstudying a colony of beavers'1• Still and moving pictures were used*

The goal was to observe and record everything that happened

$ when the observer was there#

Thus, it can he seen that the method is in

the nature of a tour de force# There is no tabulation of data or discus­ sion of how they were combined and conclusion© drawn#

tinder weaning, it

is stated that Navaho theory aid practice show sharp discrepancies} some let the child nurse as long as he wants to, some till he walks, some until he has teeth, and others not past two years of age#

in average weaning

age for 60 children was revealed as two years and four months with a range from 8 months to four years and five months# weaning are*

Some reasons given for

another pregnancy} baby bitesj mother*s health*

qualification by incidence figures, these reasons those for almost any grorp of mothers#

2

Without

are no different from

Methods of weaning vary, usual

2# The present study would indicate that these are common reasons given by mothers indifferent cultures and on different social levels#

practice is to make it easy by gradually reducing the feedings*

Toilet

training is not stressed and few children cease to wet or soil before fire year© of age# observed*

Thumbsueking is rare, and compulsive sucking is never

Kluckhohn (21) feels that the permissive facts of early prac­

tices are not consistent with later Ihcts of Navaho witchcraft, states of morbid melancholia and endemic uneasiness which have been w all documented for the adult Navaho#^

3# wHcw can anxiety level be so high when children are nursed when they want to be, disciplines are so permissive and there is so much genuine affection, protection and gratification?11 (21, p# 85)#

6 H© concludes that "theorists claim too much for the early years and do not pay enough attention to later events and the total situation* It may be that earlier indulgence gives the firmest foundation for con­ fident adult personality, but it is only a possible basis.M

Whiting (43) has interpreted socialization in terms of Hull's learning theory using data gathered on a primitive tribe of head-hunters in New Guinea*

The method is participant observation and although not

quantitatively treated, the data are subjected to an exhaustive logical analysis with conclusions stated in the form of propositions to be tested by later field data. More pertinent to the present study is a comparative analysis of Negro and white child rearing practices on two class levels by Davis and Havighurst (6)*

Data are presented in medians and percentages, and

analyzed for statistically significant differences between cultures and lower class versus middle class*

Information was obtained from interview

of 200 mothers by carefully trained interviewers*

One of their larger

findings was that there appeared to be more social class differences than color differences, and that class differences appeared about equally often in both Negro and white groups*

Pertinent results will be dis­

cussed in later sections* Orientation and Objectives This study is set in the framework of modern learning theory as tentatively applied to socialization phenomena by recent theorists (33,&>43)* Learning theory here refers to the broad aspects of habit and secondary drive acquisition by a specified modifiable organism reacting in relation

7 to the rewarding and punishing aspects of its environment e.g. human be­ havior is learned and the social conditions of learning can be described. No systematic or controversial pBssaispisi issues of learning theory prin­ ciples are involved.

These are tasks for the laboratory scientist.

The

transmission of cultural characteristics is one of the most challenging and obscure problems facing the social scientist. Ralph Linton (29,p*14) states that the developing individual is shaped by cultural pattern in two ways: (1) (2)

By hi© experience of what other people, acting In ac­ cordance with the pattern, do to him, and What he learns from other people as the result of imi­ tation or instruction.

In this study, we are concerned with a few selected experiences ©f infancy falling largely under the first rubric above, i.e., nursing, weaning, food introduction, et cetera, or certain experiences associated with satisfaction and early conditioning of the primary drives of hunger, thirst, and elimination.

Depth psychologists concur in emphasizing these

areas as crucial to later personality pattern.

It has rarely been pos­

sible to establish a one-to-one relationship between a particular feature of early treatment and later characteristics.

According to Linton (29,p.14)

tfthe effects seem to derive from the atmosphere created by the method of infant care than any of its details.” We have tried to capture objectively some of this elusive atmos­ phere by rating certain phases of nursing and weaning on the basis of permissiveness or leniency versus rigidity or strictness. The study has three general objectives: (1)

To give a natural history or descriptive account of

8 learning conditions in certain specified areas of infant experience as contrasted in several cultural settings, e.g. Indian, white, upper and lower class; that is, to describe parts of the social "maze" in which the child acquires a personality as related to a particular cultural setting. (2)

To trace general relationships or tendencies to re­

lationship (if any) between various aspects of early childhood experi­ ences and later personality characteristics, e.g. aggressiveness and dependency as demonstrated in the elementary school situation. (3)

To demonstrate that considerable variability in practice

and learning pattern is to be found in a culture or cultural subdivision even on relatively simple levels of cultural organization.

The impli­

cation is that too many social scientists advance conclusions without presenting their data.

Their conclusions are presented as "modal” repre­

sentations, but the statistical distributions and techniques (if any) for selecting these "modes” are seldom indicated even in an adumbrative manner.^

4* It is admitted that qualitative description has some scientific value and not all data can be treated with adequate statistical techniques. However, statistical techniques should be introduced whenever and whereever possible. It was noted in this study that concentration on simple concrete facts and a reasonable statistical analysis decidedly limits the amount of interpretation that can be drawn from a given amount of oppor­ tunity to gather data.

9 Culture There Is no interest in culture j>er se in the traditional anthropological sense e.g. cultural norms and description.

The interest

is in contrast or comparison of early learning condition® and certain behavior or trait manifestations.

In order to obtain this contrast, the

logical procedure is to seek out groups of differing racial stock, his­ torical background, social institutions, etc. where it can be empirically assumed that life experiences, traits, and behavior are somewhat different. It is the old device of substituting natural life settings for the exact laboratory control of conditioning variables* The Sioux Indians were not selected because they are a relatively primitive group but because they represent a group whose ways of life and treatment of children appear to be different.

Other considerations were

their availibility as subjects and the writer's previous experience with these Indians.

It was originally planned to obtain all subjects from the

Indian and white (predominantly Indian) village of Fort Yates, North Da­ kota, the agency center of the Standing Hock Indian Reservation.

Most of

data

the Indian

were obtained in this locale but it was necessary to go else­

where to obtain a few subjects in order to achieve the desired balance of class levels.

There were not enough whites in Fort Yates to yield the

desired sample size so the whites were obtained from a small North Dakota community 70 miles from Fort Yates.

Thus, both Indians and whites are

persons from small communities in a rural state.

Social class In order to obtain further contrasts and analytical datum points,

the cultures were subdivided for social class.

The concept of social

class in its present day form is a relatively new research tool de­ veloped through study of what Warner, Meeker and Eells (4 ) call old American stock with some attempt to extend it to ethnic groups.

It had

earlier conception in such classifications as working class, profes­ sional class, occupational class, socio-economic status et cetera. Socio-economic status scales (1) were developed at the University of Minnesota from the Barr scale and Taussig scale.

This scale was largely

used as a sampling device in conjunction with the United States census in that samples for studies were selected on the basis of the percentage representation of the various groups in the United States population resulting in a stratified sample.

Data were sometimes analysed in terns

of status groups but the main interest was in its use as a sampling de­ vice.

This was about the extent of the psychologists* concern with class

as a concept, although other social scientists were indulging In theo­ rizing about social stratification and class levels.

As Warner, et al

(41,p.6) say, “Although well aware of social class, social scientists have been more concerned with their theories and with quarreling among themselves about what social class is than studying its reality in the daily lives of people." Social class as now formulated appears to be conceived in a wider perspective and the six class levels (lower-lower, upper-lower, lower-middle, upper-middle, lower-upper and upper-upper) are being utilized as nodal points for the analysis and description of man in his

11 social context.

The emphasis is on the description of social class as a

background for learning and behavioral reaction.

As J. W. M. Whiting

(44>P*3) notes in regard to frustration* "The reaction (to frustration) depends upon the culturally defined context and particularly upon the social relationship between the frustrated person and the frustrator.M This same observation could be made in regard to most socially involved responses.

Social class delineation offers promise in the finer desig­

nation of the immediate cultural context and the relationship of the participants in any behavioral interaction.

The class level concept

lends itself to statistical analysis as the evaluations are expressed in numerical values.

Glass may be considered as a subdivision of culture

although the interactive aspects of culture and class are not clear at the present time. The class determination method used in this study is largely based on the Index of Status Characteristics technique as outlined in Warner, et al., (41, Chapter 9).

In the case of the Indians, this was

partially combined with the method of Evaluated Participation.

At first

glance, it might seem that the application of a social class concept based on old American stock would be very questionable in the case of the Indian, especially since its application to less differing ethnic groups than the Indian has not been completely worked out (41, Chapter 12). However, the difficulty in that case is concerned with the placement of the discussed ethnics in their proper place in the general hierarchy of total class structure for a given locality and where ethnicity is often a determinant in class level irrespective of other factors.

Part of the

12

objection is obviated in this study, sine© the Indians were not placed in a general structure covering both Indians and whites in the community studied, but the Indians and whites were considered discretely and placed on class levels within their respective cultures.

Comparisons are then

made between class levels in the same culture and between class levels in the different cultures. The Indians in the area selected are not unacculturated primi­ tives and the Indians in the community of Fort Yates are farther along the acculturation gradient than Indians living in the rural and more out­ lying areas of the reservation.

Actually, little remains of the Sioux

Indian culture that is actively operative in shaping the group or social life In Fort Yates.

The full bloods are often spoken of as a relatively

identifiable group.

It would not appear, at least in Fort Yates, that

5. Macgregor (30,p.25) in speaking of the Pine Ridge Sioux states that; "There are divisions based on being *full blood* or 1mixed blood* which, it is important to remember, are actually sociological rather than biological groups standing primarily for the way of living according to Indian or white patterns rather than the actual degree of blood." Macgregor offers no criteria for determining this classification for the individual Indian.

this apparent identity is correlated with any large scale overt manifes­ tation of Sioux cultural institutions.

A few isolated habits or customs

characteristic of the old culture persist, i.e., sharing of property, vestiges of the extended family and antipathy to acquisition and display of property.

It is impossible to say in what strength these motivational

systems persist, but they do appear to be present in varying degrees.

13

Many of these attitudes where found are not incompatible with lowerlower class white attitudes.

It is at this level where one expects

and finds the greater interracial concourse. In summary, the application of the concept of social class index for the purpose of outlining contrasting groups within this sub­ cultural group appears reasonably justified.

The Indian families

studied are all younger generation Indians who have lived in associ­ ation with whites for most of their lives.

Average age of the mothers

interviewed is 30 years within a range of 18 to 42 years of age.

All

except 13 mothers in the total group (18 percent) have some degree of white blood admixture.

The Indians in this section live in and about

the same community with whites, attend the same schools, intermarry with whites, pursue the same occupations, speak English, dress like whites and frequent the same places of amusement.

No Indian handi­

crafts persist on any scale and no tribal organisation indicative of the old culture is in evidence.

The community is a rural village

composed of whites and Indians of various levels of affluence.

Any

social class structure that exists appears to approximate that of the white group. Complete a priori justification for the application of the social class concept to the Indian group is not possible, of course. All group data is to be submitted to an analysis of variance design in order to prevent any unwarranted conclusions in regard to social

1k

c&ass level*

Final conclusions will be made in terms of significance

or nonsignificance of the interaction variance*^

6. the reader is referred to the appendix for further general discussion of the social class concept*

15

Chapter II EARLY TEA USING PRACTICES

Hypotheses The following hypotheses are advanced regarding early training practicesi A*

Social class levels and cultures constitute different

learning conditions for children and many statistically significant differences will be found in practices between social class levels in the respective cultures as well as between cultures (1, 6, 12)* (1)

The white group will tend to be more rigid than

the Indian group in training practices*^

7* Several studies indicate that middle class groups tend to be more rigid in early training practices than lower class (6, 12)* Other studies suggest that Indians tend to be less rigidthan whites (21, 30, 45)* Rigidity is viewed as earlier impositionof training and greater pressure for new habit acquisition*

(2) Upper classes will tend to be more rigid than lower classes in training practices in each respective culture* (3)

Considerable individual variation in practices

will be found within each cultural group and social class level*

16

Method

The short Interview

Data on practices were obtained by interview of mothers of young children, 3 to 7 years of age.

The final form of the short in­

terview schedule was developed after a preliminary series of twenty interviews.

It appeared advisable to select a few concrete items of

early child experience, items on which parents could report with greatest ease and validity.

This was the approach which Kinsey (20)

used in selecting the fact of orgasm as the focal point of his interview. Several other considerations dictated the use of a shorter interview session.

For one thing, the Indians tendedto be taciturn and

relatively difficult to interview, as do erne lower class whites.

It

appeared early that long interview attempts were disturbing to many of these people. corded by hand.

The interviews were given in the home and the data re­ Without a sound recording device (which was impractical

in the home) the recording of large masses of data was impossible.

A description of the interview technique and recording form is given in the appendix.

Information was recorded exactly as given

and very few impressionistic comments were added,

leading questions

were avoided assiduously. In a way, the interview used might be viewed as an oral questionnaire.

We prefer to view It as a highly structured interview

in which the subject is encouraged to express herself freely within

17

certain narrow areas*

The development of rapport and a desire to give

information are very necessary to the completion of a schedule of in* formation.

Only a relatively skilled interviewer can elicit these

vital prerequisites. All of the interviews were completed by one person* the writer* who has had five years of experience as a social worker inter­ viewing the particular classes of people (particularly Indian and lower class white) who comprise the subjects of the study. key persons in the areas where he worked*

He was known to many

At first* the subjects were

contacted through public health nurses* teachers and acquaintances.

The

majority were finally contacted by simply calling from door to door. This method worked very well.

In only two instances was an interview

flatly refused. Reliability and validity. The data on ages and practices are assuredly not exact; however* the recall factor was kept at a minimum in that the children discussed were selected from a lower age range.

The average ages of the children In each group were 4 to 5

years within a range of 3 to ? years.

The questions of validity and

reliability are more interrelated In the present setting than they would be in other problems •

Both depend on what a variable subject

may say at different times. In this study* we have not observed what parents do in training their children.

Rather we have observed and recorded the

mother's verbal statement of what she can recall in regard to the training of her children.

It is not assumed that such statements

18 mirror exactly what actually took place.

It is assumed, however,

that such verbal statements have a reasonable correlation to what actually took place and can be considered as fair indices of the child training practice.

Until some method can be devised for ob­

serving children in the home, verbal report through interview must be resorted to.

In so far as the data is gathered by efficient,

standardised interview technique and are recognized for what they are, they may be said to be valid. It was not feasible due to time and financial limitation to make a check on the reliability of the interview instrument by a re­ interview of some of the subjects in regard to the same children. This is probably a real defect in this study and in similar studies to date; none make a special attempt to check the reliability of ver­ bal report on child training practices.

Since the interview does not

constitute a scale yielding a total numerical score, it is probable that varying degrees of reliability would be found for each discrete item and for different class levels. A devious implication of reliability may be noted in that statistically reliable differences were found between many of the class levels.

These results are consistent with reliable differences

found in other studies,

ftc attempt is being made to establish exact

norms for groups; the interest is in comparison only on a relative basis.

Reliability is therefore not as serious a question as it

might be where such norma are sought. In summary, the interviews were conducted by the same

19

interviewer*

They &r® short, dealing with a Tew salient facts of

relatively recent occurrence and given in a carefully standardised manner* Social class determination

The designations of social class, lower and upper, used In this study do not have exactly the same meaning as in the social class hierarchy advanced by Warner, et al*(41,p.127). In their system, lower and upper class refer to certain ranges of social class indices within a three level social class hierarchy; upper, middle and lower (41,p*12?J*

The concepts of level per se have

no meaning beyond the designation of ranges of indices*

In the present

study, the Indian sample was gathered first with as wide a range of social indices as possible within the available population. ple was then split in half*

This sam~

The upper half was subsequently labeled

as upper class and the lower half as lower class.

Then a comparable

sample of whites was obtained with approximately the same central ten­ dency and range; this sample was split and labeled as in the case of the Indian sample.

The objective was to obtain a fourfold classifi-

8. See Table III for data on class indices. The classes of this study run from lower-lower to upper-middle class in terns of the Warner et al * class stratification. Glass limits of the study are determined by the available Indian sample which does not reach above the Warner lowermiddle in the strict sense*

cation for comparative purposes,, upper and lower class merely serving

20

as clasaificatory tags.

These terminological liberties should be

kept in mind when the results of this study are to be compared with those of other investigations using a social class design.. It was also necessary to

modify a few criteria of

the Index of Status Characteristics technique to meet the realities of the Indian environment.

For instance, type of Indian housing

could not be rated in teras of the rating values for old American stock.

An average home for old American stock is given a rating of

four and is described as: "Average houses, One-and-a-half to two-story wood-frame and brick single-family dwellings. Conventional style, with lawns well cared for but not landscaped." (41,p,150) Only the very best Indian homes in Fort Yates could meet this des­ cription and most of these were houses furnished by the government to agency employees.

In order to render the index of housing ap­

plicable, all the houses in the community were scrutinised by three persons who finally selected by common judgment what was designated as an average home for the cofnmunity and which was to be given a rating of four.

This average dwelling was described as;

"A fair-sized one or two-room frame or log dwelling in good repair (within limits of repairability)• Yard neat with no litter and some attempt at maintaining a lawn," Thus it may be seen that a we11-cared-for log cabin in Fort Yates is a respectable dwelling.

Other homes were rated below this usually in

terms of upkeep and litter. ter home.

Similarly, some were rated above as bet­

All the homes furnished by the agency were rated above

this average home as three, two or one.

(Ratings are from better to

21

poorer on a one to seven scale).

Most of the Indian sample lived in

or near Fort Yates.

The same procedure was followed for the few

located elsewhere.

Other status characteristics as occupation and

source of income were rated exactly as for whites.

Educational level

was substituted for area lived in for both whites and Indians as area had inexact meaning in the communities studied except in a general way.

Average homes are often found beside very poor ones, but in

these times of housing pressures it is often a matter of necessity rather than choice or reflection of status.

The interview subjects were mothers with children between three and seven years of age. one particular child.

Each interview consisted of data on

In thirty instances two interviews were taken

from the same mother on two separate children.

Data was gathered on

the youngest child (three years or more) in each family,

tfhere two

children were discussed, the mother was asked to tell about another child who might be somewhat different from the one Just discussed.

The Indian mothers and children Sixty-two Indian mothers were interviewed regarding seventy children. Nearly

All were Sioux Indians of varying degrees of blood.

every Indian mother with children three to seven years of age

in Fort Yates was interviewed.

In order to round out the sample, a

22.

few were obtained in other localities*

At the time of the interview,

forty-seven of the families were living in or near Fort Yates on the Standing Hock Heservation; seven near Fort Totten on the Fort Totten Reservation and three in Bismarck, a non-reservation community seventy miles north of Fert Yates* a town ©r village*

All except eight were living in or very near

It is apparent from Table X that blood distribution

is net representative of population on the Standing Hock Indian Heser­ vation*

Rather, it is to be considered as a sample of the families in

Fert Yates on two class levels*

After division for social class, the

groups are describable as follows: Lower class* Thirty-one mothers were interviewed about thirty-six children; twenty-six were interviewed about one child and five in regard to two children each* thirty years*

Average age ©f the mothers was

Average age ®f the children was four years.

of these children were boys and eighteen were girls*

Eighteen

The Indian blood

of the mothers is given in Table 1* Upper class*

Thirty-one mothers were interviewed about thirty-

four children; twenty-eight in regard to one child and three in regard to two children each.

Average age of the mothers was 31*9 years and that of

the children, 4*2 years* this group*

There were sixteen boys and eighteen girls in

Blood admixture of the mothers is given in Table I*

23

TABLE I Percentage of Blood Distribution of Indian Mothers Degree of blood Pull blood Three-fourths One-half One-fourth or less

Lower Class

Upper Class

Total Sample

23*4 40*0 33.3 3.3

12.9 9.7 54.9 22.6

18.1 24.6 44.2 13.1

Total Reservation

♦Figures not available on other bloods on the reservation.

5456*

2h

White mothers and children

Sixty native-born white mothers were interviewed about eighty-two children* fates*

Fifteen of the mother# were interviewed in Fort

Forty-five were from sections of Bismarck, North Dakota, where

the people are migrants from the rural and village areas of the state* These parents were seleeted through Public Health Service records and personal survey as having rural-village backgrounds comparable to those found in Fort fates*

Interviews were taken in the homes*

The white sample was seleeted in so far as posaibie to be comparable to the Indian sample which was selected first*

It was en­

deavored to keep the social class indices range within that already determined for the Indians*

This meant that we were dealing with lower-

lower, upper-lower and a few lower-middle class whites in strict terms of the Warner class scale* Indians*

The sample was split in half, as for the

The details of class distribution for both Indians and whites

are given in Table III*

It may be seen from an examination of the

medians and ranges given in this table that the samples are reasonably comparable in terms of social class indices* Lower class* Thirty white mothers were interviewed about forty children; twenty in regard to one child only and ten in regard to two children in each family*

Average age of the mothers was

thirty-three years and five years for the children* boys and twenty girls*

There were twenty

Nationality backgrounds are shown in Table II*

25

Upper class. Thirty mam mothers were interviewed; eighteen in regard to one child and twelve

in regard to two children • Average

age of the mothers was thirty-two years and of the children, five years. There were twenty-one

boys and twenty-one girls.

Nationality back­

grounds are given in Table IX. It will be noted in Table II that the mothers are predomi­ nantly of German nationality background.

This is consistent with nation­

ality proportions of the general population in the localities where mothers were interviewed (Bismarck and Fort Yates).

Results and Discussion

Nursing One of the first and most demanding drives of the infant con­ fronting the parent is that of hunger.

Universally, the first mode of

reduction for this need is the offering of milk or milk substitute by breast or bottle.

The biologically determined method is by use of the

human breast, if not by the natural' mother, then by a mother substitute (wet nurse)— — in any event, a breast.

There may have been a few primi­

tive substitutions for the breast but they are no doubt rare and not of record.

Until material civilization produced the glass bottle and the

rubber nipple, the breast was the universal symbol of motherhood and in­ fant succoranee.

In fact, so ingrained is this symbol in our thinking

that we have suffered guilt feelings over its relinquishment as reflected in the common insistence that breast feeding is most natural and breast g fed babies are superior.

26

table

n

Nationality Backgrounds of the American-born White Mothers Expressed in Percentages

Nationality

German Norwegian Other (Polish* Ukrainian* Irish* etc*)

Lower Glass

Upper Class

Total Sample

58.3 13.1 28*6

ll8*U 16.1 35.5

53.3 15.0 31.7

TABLE III Distribution of Social Class Indices for Indian and White Children in this Study

Class Upper Lower Upper Lower

Indian Indian White White

U

Bange

Median

34 36 42 40

36-65 66-78 34*60 61-78

52 71 50 68

28

S. Orlansky (34) concludes after a survey of the literature that there Is no evidence for the superiority of breast over bottle feeding.

The use of breast and bottle may occur in three general ways during nursing experience; (1) Breast only from birth to weaning (2) Bottle only from birth to weaning (3) Bottle and breast in some temporal combi­ nation either concurrently or successively.

Comparative incidence date for

these categories are presented in Table VII. The only significant cultural difference is shown for exclusive breast feeding with the Indians showing the greater incidence.

There is no differentiation between classes in

either culture for exclusive breast or bottle feeding.

More Indian chil­

dren in the upper class are fed by bottle-breast combination than in the lower class (P< 3 %).

Other classes and the cultures are not differenti­

ated for this feeding combination.

The lower class Indian appears to

tend to feed exclusively either bottle or breast and not to combine the methods (Table VI® j 53 % are breast fed only, 31 % ere bottle fed only and the remaining 16 % are fed in a bottle-breast combination. It Is evident that there are no clear-cut and consistent dif­ ferences demonstrated between classes and cultures in regard to modes of feeding.

The hypothesis that there would be more exclusive breast feeding

for Indian children is supported. Although incidence of modes of feeding experience is not very differentiating, the length of such experiences show some interesting contrasts (Table V®.

Lower class Indians breast feed exclusively, longer

than upper class Indians (P»■

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