Examining Household Composition, Parental Style, and Consumer Socialization Practices Towards Children’s Media Consumption

Abstract

This study investigates the consumer socialization practices of parents in single versus multi-child and nuclear versus extended families in an emerging market. Previous consumer socialization research has focused primarily on western cultures. We examine parenting in a developing market and suggest that single-child families are more nurturant and maintain greater control of their children’s media exposure than multi-child families. The findings indicate that Modal Indian consumer socialization practices may be shifting from an Authoritarian to an Authoritative parental style with greater maternal intervention in media exposure and support for regulating children’s advertising. Implications for marketers, consumer educators, and public policy makers are discussed.