SOCIAL CHANGE, MIGRATION AND FAMILY INTERACTION IN BRAZIL.

The impact of an industrial city on rural migrant family structure and the socialization of boys is analyzed in an observational study of family interaction in 167 lower class Brazilian families. Four groups of families were selected to represent points on a rural-urban continuum, ranging from peasants on plantations, to recent rural migrants to the city, to rural migrants who have established, a place for themselves in the city, and, finally, native urban dwellers. The study employs a theoretical which stress the ways in which experiences in the city change the personality and behavior of rural migrants, increasing their feelings of efficacy and altering perceptions and taints. Observation of family interaction revealed that with a longer period of residence in the city, migrant families become more egalitarian, family relations become more open and responsive, and parents place greater emphasis on achievement and independence for their sons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]