Exploring Parental Agency: Lessons Learned from Northern India

Abstract Western parenting support interventions are increasingly being deployed in diverse, non-Western settings. The challenge is to sensitively tailor evidence-based programs to ensure cultural and contextual fit. This qualitative study engaged with parents in urban, peri-urban, rural and remote settings in India, to explore the parenting context, and develop a rich understanding of the person who parents, the environment in which they are raising their children, and their sense of agency to make change. Using a case study design in diverse parenting circumstances, 27 semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents living in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in India. A thematic approach was used to analyze the interviews. Concerns about children’s education and managing challenging behavior were universal. It was found that parenting responsibilities bore a strong gender imprint, with mothers taking on the bulk of responsibilities. Despite this, they were often excluded from decision-making within their families. Parents, particularly in lower socioeconomic groups, expressed being challenged by location-specific limitations such as unsafe neighborhoods and poor access to basic facilities. Findings mapped well onto Bandura’s triadic model of agency, including personal characteristics (e.g., values, education, health and wellbeing), behavioral capabilities (e.g., parenting practices, advocacy, decision making, conflict avoidance, mobilizing support) and environmental factors (e.g., social support, societal values, gender expectations, financial constraint, access to basic facilities). These findings have implications for tailoring evidence-based parenting support and skill building interventions. An agentic lens may also help to normalize and promote parents’ support seeking and strengthen local networks to enhance parental agency.