Infant development in two cultural contexts: Cameroonian Nso farmer and German middle‐class infants

Abstract

Objective and Background: Cultures differ in their emphases on specific developmental milestones which may be associated with early developmental differences. This study compares the developmental states of three‐ and six‐month‐old Cameroonian Nso farmer and German middle‐class infants assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Methods: The Bayley Scales were used with 345 three‐month‐old infants in Cameroon (n = 73) and Germany (n = 272). Most of the infants were reassessed at six months of age (n = 72 of the Cameroonian and n = 222 of the German infants). Results: The study showed significant differences in gross motor development in favour of the Cameroonian children and in receptive as well as expressive communication in favour of the German infants. These findings are consistent throughout both age samples. The cognitive and fine motor development is significantly advanced in the three‐month‐old German infants, but not at six months of age. Conclusion: The results are interpreted to reflect different socialisation strategies as a result of different cultural orientations of Cameroonian Nso and German middle‐class mothers and it is important to assess developmental pathways in multiple cultural environments, in order to gain an understanding of the encompassing conceptions of development.

Keywords:

• Bayley scales
• cognitive development
• motor development
• language development
• Cameroonian and German infants

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for Heidi Keller, Monika Knopf, Arnold Lohaus and Gudrun Schwarzer (KE 263/53‐1, KN 275/6‐1, LO 337/20‐1 and SCHW 665/9‐1).