No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Mother–Son, Mother–Daughter, Father–Son, and Father–Daughter: Are They Distinct Relationships?
Abstract
Presents a literature review examining sex differences in parent–child relationships during childhood and adolescence, and testing the hypothesis that both parent sex and child sex contribute so that relationships in the 4 dyads of mother–son, mother–daughter, father–son, and father–daughter are distinct. Research was divided into 3 groups: (1) only 1 dyad was studied; (2) all 4 dyads were studied, but no tests for differences were conducted; and (3) all 4 dyads were studied and tests for differences were carried out. The research was further divided according to the formal aspect of the relationship being investigated. The literature contained many claims and assumptions about the distinctness of relationships in the 4 dyads, but empirical evidence in support of these claims was limited. Only 1 study with significant difference among all 4 dyads was found. Often there were findings of interactions between parent sex and child sex, but the form of this interaction varied from one study to another, and from one measure to another. Variables associated with findings of interactions between parent sex and child sex were examined. When dyadic distinctness was found, it often was for relationship measures of closeness/cohesion and affective reactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... Indeed, a review reported that different parent-child dyads (i.e. mother-daughter; motherson; father-daughter; father-son) are distinct in terms of cohesion and closeness (Russell & Saebel, 1997). Some research reports that mother and daughter relationships are highly distinct and critical for daughter's adjustment abilities and wellbeing (Paikoff et al., 1993). ...
... Some research reports that mother and daughter relationships are highly distinct and critical for daughter's adjustment abilities and wellbeing (Paikoff et al., 1993). It is worth noting however, that gender might not be the only factor that causes distinctiveness in parent-child dyads and that factors such as child characteristics, parent personality and marital relationship quality all contribute to the parent-child dynamic (Russell & Saebel, 1997). ...
This review systematically explores qualitative evidence of the lived experience of mothers’ parenting autistic women and girls. A SPIDER search strategy was conducted on five databases and in the grey literature. Backward, forward and relevant journal scanning was also carried out. Twenty-two qualitative or mixed-method studies were included and quality appraised using CASP, encompassing over 150 mothers. A thematic synthesis highlighted five super-ordinate themes; ‘The diagnosis process and getting support’, ‘Mother’s role as all consuming’, ‘Experiences of family wellbeing’, ‘Mother as an expert observer’ and ‘The hopes and fears of mothers’. The review highlights areas of motivation to socialise, masking and menstruation needs as key differences in the autistic female presentation from a mothers’ perspective. Implications for practice are discussed.
... Noticing the sex differences in parent-child relationships, both parent sex and child sex contribute to form four dyads of relationships which are very much distinct: mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and father-daughter are distinct (Russell & Saebel, 1997) 1 . Father's impact on daughter's development in various aspects including personality has been recognized to constantly increase compared to other kinds of family intimate relationship (Biller & Weiss, 1970) 2 . ...
... Noticing the sex differences in parent-child relationships, both parent sex and child sex contribute to form four dyads of relationships which are very much distinct: mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and father-daughter are distinct (Russell & Saebel, 1997) 1 . Father's impact on daughter's development in various aspects including personality has been recognized to constantly increase compared to other kinds of family intimate relationship (Biller & Weiss, 1970) 2 . ...
... The results also showed that husbands' phubbing had a greater effect on motherdaughter relationship quality than on mother-son relationship quality. The motherdaughter relationship is a same-sex dyad in which mother and daughter both hold a feminine viewpoint, so that they have a shared knowledge [67]. Girls have been shown to provide more interpersonal care than boys, and mother-daughter dyads might develop more mutual concerned responsiveness than mother-son dyads [55]. ...
... The father-son relationship is another same-sex dyad. Holding the same male viewpoint, father and son have a shared knowledge [67]. As a means of compensation, fathers who experienced partner phubbing in the marital relationship may prefer to communicate with sons than daughters to restore positive emotions and meet the psychological needs of relatedness and intimacy. ...
A high-quality parent–child relationship is critical to the health and well-being of adolescents and, in the family system, the interaction pattern within couples is a decisive factor in parent–adolescent relationship quality. Using dyadic data from 441 Chinese couples, in this study, we examined the association between partner phubbing (a negative interaction behavior initiated by the spouse) and parent–adolescent relationship quality, and further explored the moderating effect of adolescent gender. Dyadic modeling showed that partner phubbing had both an intra-person effect and an inter-person effect on parent–adolescent relationship quality. For the intra-person effect, husbands’ phubbing had an adverse effect on the mother–adolescent relationship quality, and this effect was stronger for girls than boys; wives’ phubbing had a positive effect on the father–adolescent relationship quality, but this effect was only significant for boys. For the inter-person effect, the negative influence of husbands’ phubbing on father–adolescent relationship quality was only significant for boys; wives’ phubbing was uncorrelated with mother–adolescent relationship quality. These findings deepen our understanding of the links between the marital subsystem and the parent-adolescent subsystem in the family, underscore the importance of positive marital interactions for adolescent development, and have implications for personal smartphone use management in family contexts.
... Mothers are primarily responsible for preventing adolescent emotional and behavioral development, whereas fathers are primarily responsible for ensuring the family's proper functioning (Bjorklund and Kipp, 1996). Although FAR and MAR are essentially the same relationship and both are used to reflect the emotional cohesion between father/mother and adolescent (Russell and Saebel, 1997), parental involvement in parenting styles contributes to the FAR/differential MAR's effects on adolescent IA. The differences in Perceived Social Support and DSSC elicited by FAR/MAR resulted in FAR/MAR having a different effect on adolescent IA. ...
... This parental restraint contributes to adolescents' reflection and monitoring of Internet device use, thereby lowering their risk of IA. However, when communication between fathers and adolescents breaks down for a variety of reasons, resulting in low FAR (Russell and Saebel, 1997;Pitsoane and Gasa, 2018), adolescents may become liberated from their fathers' restraint, and FAR loses its ability to influence adolescents' IA via the Reflective System. ...
Although previous research has demonstrated that parent–adolescent relationships have a significant effect on adolescent Internet Addiction (IA), the mechanisms underlying these associations and parental differences in these effects have received insufficient attention. We investigated the mediating role of Perceived Social Support and Dual System of Self-Control (DSSC) in the relationship between Father-Adolescent Relationships/Mother-Adolescent Relationships (FAR/MAR) and adolescent IA, as well as the differences in the effects of FAR and MAR. A cross-sectional survey of 732 Chinese adolescents was conducted using the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale, Parent–Adolescent Relationship Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Dual System of Self-Control Scale. Multiple linear regression analysis, Pearson correlation analysis and structural equation modeling were used. The results of structural modeling analysis showed that neither FAR nor MAR directly predicted adolescent IA. In contrast, FAR/MAR had an impact on adolescent IA mainly through the mediating effects of Perceived Social Support and Impulsive System. Furthermore, in the relationship between FAR/MAR and adolescent IA, the Impulsive System and Perceived Social Support both served as chain mediators, as did Perceived Social Support and the Reflective System. And more importantly, unlike FAR, MAR affects adolescent IA through the mediating effect of the Reflective System. Multiple linear regression showed that the regression coefficient of MAR on adolescent IA had stronger significance compared to FAR, MAR is deserving of more attention than FAR. These findings contribute to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the association between FAR/MAR and adolescent IA and suggest that family relationship-focused training approaches are critical for suppressing adolescent IA. These interventions should be tailored to the unique circumstances of each family.
... Mothers share some interests and undertake day-to-day activities with their daughters (say skills for enhancing physical appearance) while fathers share some activities with their sons (some recreational and sporting activities -see (19). Some researchers suggest there is a special (undefined) bond between mothers and their daughters (20). ...
... While there is some evidence that mothers spend more time with their daughters than their sons, and fathers more time with their sons than daughters there is less known about the activities in which mothersdaughters and fathers-sons share (26). Largely absent from previous research on parenting is a concern with specific aspects of daily life, that is gender differences in parent-child involvement in such activities as cleaning, cooking, household repairs, shopping, clothing choices, skills to enhance physical appearance and the like (20,27,28). ...
Background: Parents are the main supplier of alcohol to children but it is not known whether mothers and fathers equally contribute to the supply of alcohol to their female and male children as these children transition to adulthood.
Objectives: i) to determine whether the gender of the parent is associated with the gender of the adolescent offspring when alcohol is supplied and ii) whether the gender of the parent supplying is associated with gender differences in adolescent binge drinking and alcohol related harms.
Methods: Longitudinal cohort of 1,927 (males = 1052) Australian adolescents (mean age 12.9 years), recruited in 2010/11 from schools in Australia and surveyed annually for six years. We assessed the association between adolescent and parent gender related to subsequent adolescent drinking, binge drinking (>4 standard drinks), and alcohol-related harms.
Results: At mean age of 12.9 years about one in ten children report parental supply of alcohol which increases to about four in ten children by 17.8 years. Mothers consistently more often supply their daughters with alcohol than their sons, [Wave 5 OR 1.77 (1.53,2.05)], while mothers less often supply sons than their daughters, [Wave 5 OR 0.82 (0.71,0.95)]. Mothers’ supply of alcohol to daughters predicts substantially increased odds of daughters binge drinking, [OR 1.67 (1.10,2.53)] and experiencing alcohol related harms, [OR 1.65 (1.10,2.48)].
Conclusion: There is a need to involve both mothers and fathers and to equally target female and male children in programs to reduce the harmful consequences of parental supply of alcohol to their children.
... The way in which mothering and fathering interact with the gender of the child could affect the perceptions of parental involvement by adolescents, resulting in differential effects on the life satisfaction of sons and daughters. Extensive literature in developmental psychology (Russell and Saebel, 1997;Leaper et al., 1998;Hastings et al., 2007) and sociology (Raley and Bianchi, 2006) has focused on whether mothers and fathers interact similarly with their sons and daughters, even when they believe that children should be treated the same, regardless of gender. Due to maturational differences, sons may elicit less verbal interaction than daughters, a gender difference in parent-child relations that can be determined very early in life and intensifies across childhood (Leaper et al., 1998). ...
... Previous research has indicated that mothers and fathers play different roles in the development of children. These differences are noticeable in early adolescence, when young people undergo physical, behavioral, and social changes, and this is further complicated by the gender of the child, with distinctions in perceived family support found in mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and father-daughter relationships (Russell and Saebel, 1997;Raley and Bianchi, 2006). However, previous research exploring the effects that gender differences in parent-child bonds have on the life satisfaction of adolescents is inconclusive: some studies have found that adolescent subjective well-being is similarly associated with father-adolescent and mother-adolescent relationships (Sheeber et al., 2007); whereas others have found a stronger association with relationships with mothers than with fathers, particularly among daughters (Levin and Currie, 2010). ...
Early adolescence is a developmental stage that comprises some basic interactional processes with parents, which can be described as gaining autonomy while maintaining relatedness. Studying how maternal and paternal involvement influence the life satisfaction of sons and daughters during early adolescence is especially important while seeking to understand the challenges of this developmental stage. In this paper, we investigate the differential effects of maternal and paternal involvement, as assessed by sons and daughters, on their life satisfaction during early adolescence. We use a unique survey conducted in Chile, The National Survey on Student Trajectories and Transitions, focusing on a subsample of 497 early adolescents attending 5th to 8th grade (60% female, M age = 12.42, SD = 1.18). Our findings indicate that both paternal and maternal involvement are positively correlated with the life satisfaction of adolescents. We also find that the gender of adolescents moderates the effect of maternal involvement, so daughters (but not sons) who deemed the involvement of their mothers to be more positive reported greater life satisfaction. More positive paternal involvement correlates with greater life satisfaction for sons and daughters. We discuss some mechanisms that might bring about these differences.
... Tali studi hanno considerato, prevalentemente, lo status socioeconomico "paterno" mentre le variabili "materne" sono state utilizzate solo successivamente con l'ingresso, sempre più frequente e stabile, delle donne nel mercato del lavoro. Russell e Sabel (1997) (Zuckerman 1981), tale probabilità aumenta se viene offerto supporto dalla famiglia e, in particolare, se il supporto arriva dai maschi della famiglia, primo fra tutti il padre (Houser e Garvey 1983). ...
... Infine, dato l'impatto del background socio-economico della famiglia sulle scelte formative dei figli, una terza ipotesi riguarda l'influenza del titolo di studio e del prestigio occupazionale dei genitori sulle aspettative lavorative. Sulla base della letteratura che ha mostrato come la trasmissione possa differenziarsi secondo linee di genere (Russell e Sabel 1997;Carraro et al. 2011), ci aspettiamo che le variabili legate al background del padre influenzino le aspettative dei figli sia maschi sia femmine, mentre quelle della madre influenzino, prevalentemente, le aspettative delle figlie. In presenza di madri che svolgono lavori prestigiosi, per accedere ai quali hanno affrontato un percorso formativo concluso con la laurea, possiamo ipotizzare che le aspettative delle figlie si indirizzino verso attività "più maschili", che garantiscono un miglior posizionamento sociale e più elevate prospettive di carriera e guadagno. ...
... Mother-daughter relationships are considered the closest among all parent-child relationships (Fisher & Miller-Day, 2006;Miller-Day et al., 2013;Russell & Saebel, 1997;Steinberg & Silk, 2002). Mothers and their daughters tend to spend more time together and communicate more frequently than other parent-child relationships, which often leads to greater closeness as well as higher conflict (Harrigan & Miller-Ott, 2013;Penington, 2004). ...
Little is known about the parenting experiences of autistic mothers, yet there is reason to believe that autistic mothers of non-autistic daughters have a unique set of experiences, especially during their daughters’ adolescence. Seven autistic mothers of adolescent ( n = 5) and adult ( n = 2) non-autistic daughters were interviewed about their experiences of raising their daughters during adolescence. Data were analyzed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach and four superordinate themes were identified: (1) Closeness in relationships (expressed affection, safety and support, understanding mothers’ autism), (2) Parenting strengths (problem-solving skills, positive strategies for managing conflict), (3) Identifying own social challenges (understanding social dynamics, friendships and social groups), and (4) Building daughters’ social skills (concern about daughters’ social development, creating opportunities for positive social interactions). This research highlights the strengths of autistic mothers and the loving relationships they have with their daughters. Mothers in this study also revealed specific challenges, such as interacting with other parents who often ignored or excluded them. This study, therefore, emphasizes the need for greater societal awareness, understanding, acceptance, and inclusion of the autistic community.
Lay Abstract
Little is known about the parenting experiences of autistic mothers, especially those who have daughters who are not on the autism spectrum. In this study, we interviewed seven autistic mothers who have raised or are currently raising non-autistic teenage daughters. Mothers were asked to describe what parenting was/is like during their daughters’ teenage years. We analyzed the transcripts of the interviews and found several common themes. Mothers described their relationships with their daughters to be loving, safe, and empathetic. Mothers described several strengths when it came to parenting, such as helping their daughters solve problems and using positive strategies to handle conflict with their daughters. Mothers also described challenges they faced when interacting with other non-autistic people and when trying to form relationships with them. Mothers tried to build their daughters’ social skills so that they would not experience the same challenges. This study shows that autistic mothers have close, loving relationships with their non-autistic teenage daughters but have trouble forming relationships with other non-autistic people. It is, therefore, important that non-autistic parents are more understanding and welcoming of autistic mothers.
... Taken together, the negative outcomes of overparenting appear to skew towards female offspring. Furthermore, given that mother-son, mother-daughter, father-son, and father-daughter dyads have been thought to represent distinct relationships (Russell & Saebel, 1997), it is possible that the magnitude of the associations between overparenting and offspring outcomes might vary depending on different parent-offspring dyads. Alternatively, based on gender congruence theory (Ruble et al., 2006), parents may have greater influences on same-gender offspring. ...
Overparenting has been considered to contribute to offspring internalizing mental disorders from theoretical perspectives, which some empirical evidence has supported. However, existing findings are inconsistent. To facilitate the understanding of the association between overparenting and depression, anxiety, and internalizing symptoms, an examination of effect sizes is required. By employing the PRISMA method, a meta-analysis was conducted. Fifty-two articles were identified, with 38 studies examining depression, 30 studies examining anxiety, and 21 studies examining internalizing symptoms. The results show that overparenting is associated with offspring depression (mean age 19.94 years) (k = 133, r = .15, p < .001), anxiety (mean age 19.57 years) (k = 101, r = .14, p < .001), and internalizing symptoms (mean age 19.76 years) (k = 58, r = .19, p < .001). Moderator analyses show that the effect sizes are largely equal across SES groups, cultures, the age of offspring, child gender, and study design but may vary depending on the parental gender and report informants. Implications for interventions and future directions are discussed.
... What is known as the strongest element in the differences between sexes was found in parentchild interactions These differences were found in other studies (Russell & Saebel, 1997). The results indicate that a father is more connected to his male child/children than to his female child/children while the opposite is true in the case of the mother. ...
The aim of this study to examine the interaction between parents and children in Kuwait. It examines gender, home types, number of wives, and child age order differences in father and mother dialogue scales. The study also examines the association between the father and mother dialogue scale with some social variables. A sample of 725 Kuwaiti aged 17‒19 years was selected. Respondents’ GPA, some household information, father’s and mother’s Educational levels were collected were used. Father/Mother Dialogue Scale. Significant differences were found between males and females, types of home, have only one wife and those who have more than one wife, the son/daughter order among siblings in the family, the fathers and mothers’ age in both father and mother dialogue scales. Relationship was found between father and mother dialogue and many sociocultural variables. The dialogue between children and their parents is considered to be weak, especially in regard to the father’s side.
... Taken together, these societal changes open up the chance to observe stronger similarity in education among female family members. Finally, a hypothesis of gender similarity is also plausible, as the overall mechanisms of intergenerational transmission are expected to be rather similar for both men and women (Breen et al, 2010); this is an expectation consistent with overall ambiguous results in gender-specific intergenerational transmission in the psychological literature (Russell and Saebel, 1997). ...
Among the many social characteristics that run in the family, education is one of the most strongly persistent. The long-term changes in educational reproduction within families and across generations and the gender-specific drivers of these changes remain partially unclear. Using population data for all Finnish siblings and their parents, we assessed the level of and trends in the intergenerational persistence of education among cohorts born between 1950 and 1989. The variance in education shared among siblings was 37% and remained stable over time. Parental education steadily increased its explanatory power in the shared variance, from 30% among cohorts born in the 1950s to 40% among cohorts born in the 1970s and 1980s. The direct contribution of maternal education net of paternal education for sibling similarity more than doubled across cohorts (from 5% in 1950 to 13% in 1989). The direct contribution of paternal education (10–12%) remained stable. Same-gender siblings resembled each other in education more closely than their opposite-gender counterparts. The growing importance of maternal education over time, which surpasses the predictive power of paternal education, demonstrates an important qualitative change in the determinants of educational stratification. The growing importance of mothers’ education can plausibly result from the strengthening meritocratic achievement of women in education and the associated increase of women in defining the social position of the family. Incorporating the education of both parents in future analyses of intergenerational reproduction of education will probably be increasingly salient.
... With mothers historically regarded as the primary caregivers, there has been an implicit assumption that father-child relationships had little impact on children s development (Cabrera et al. 2000, 127). However, recent trends such as the growing women s labour force, the breakdown of rigid gender roles and norms, cultural and social shifts, and increased household paternal involvement have led to significant changes in the conceptualization of the role and importance of fathers in the lives of their children (Cabrera et al. 2000;McMunn et al. 2015;Paquette 2012;Russell and Saebel 1997;Ruxton and van der Gaag 2013;Sağkal, et al. 2018). Further, rising education rates and the effects of globalization and westernization have led to shifts in the traditional view of the father-daughter relationship in many Global South societies and cultures across Asia and Africa (Decker 2010;Hossain 2013;Urban and Nonkwelo 2020;Yeung 2013). ...
Research supports that the positive involvement of fathers in caregiving activities cultivates family cohesion and fosters the emotional well-being of fathers and their families. However, there are limited community-based resources that support and celebrate the development of nurturing fatherhood and focus on strengthening father-daughter relationships. In collaboration with diverse communities in Calgary, Canada, a local network launched a community-based and culturally relevant program, Honouring Fathers and Daughters, to promote positive fatherhood roles and to celebrate both nurturing fatherhood practices and the significance of father-daughter relationships. Participants (N=65), from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, including 19 fathers, 17 mothers, and 29 children, joined the program. A community-based research approach (CBR) was employed to gather participant responses through feedback forms. Through qualitative analysis, responses indicated three key themes: valuing and appreciating father-daughter relationships, the need for social and cultural spaces for the engagement and transformation of fathers, and the importance of providing opportunities for fathers to learn new strategies for parenting and bonding with their daughters. This article highlights the importance of community-based engagement programs for nurturing father-daughter relationships and provides insights for communities.
... Although other research does not find evidence of gender differences in trajectories of CU traits (Klingzell et al., 2016), there is evidence that the interplay between parent and child CU traits differs by gender of parent and child (see, Diaz et al., 2018) and that girls and boys with high CU traits may have different relationships with their parents (Fanti, 2013). Additionally, the mother-and father-child relationships differ in their influence on antisocial behavior (Murray et al., 2014), and mothers and father each interact differently with their sons than they do with their daughters (Russell & Saebel, 1997), which may impact the intergenerational transmission of CU traits. Thus, it is important for future research to examine the stability of CU traits in youth of any gender as moderated by CU traits in both mothers and fathers for greater generalizability. ...
Objective:
Callous-unemotional (CU) traits are associated with chronic and severe antisocial behavior. Although previous research has found that parents play an important role in the etiology and maintenance of youth CU traits, little research has examined the extent that parents' own CU traits impact the stability of their children's CU traits. The present study investigated the moderating role of maternal CU traits on developmental changes in youth CU traits.
Method:
A sample of 346 mother-son dyads, in which all youth were justice-involved males (Mage = 15.81; 57.80% Latino, 20.52% White, 18.21% Black, 3.47% other race/ethnicity), across three states (California, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania) completed a semi-structured interview.
Results:
Youth exhibited a decrease in CU traits over 30 months. Mothers' CU traits moderated this relation, such that high maternal CU traits were associated with a smaller decrease in CU traits than low or average maternal CU traits, both when considering youth CU traits continuously and using a clinically significant cut score. The findings remained for continuous CU traits even after accounting for environmental factors (i.e., maternal warmth, maternal hostility, victimization, and witnessing violence), and these environmental factors did not vary over time.
Conclusion:
The results highlight the importance of maternal influence in understanding how youth CU traits change over time, and have important implications for the use of parenting and family-level interventions among justice-involved youth.
... The few studies that examined child gender moderation, found either no effect thereof (e.g., Gülseven et al., 2018;Otterpohl & Wild, 2015;Rueth et al., 2017;Sarıtaş et al. 2013), or . This indicates that an examination of the child's gender alone does not reveal many differences; however, future studies could examine the gender of the parents, as well as the gender combination of child and parent, which have been found in previous studies to be important when considering parenting and development (Hoeve et al., 2011;Russell & Saebel, 1997). Considering the changing nature of the relationship between parents and children as they age, as well as general development trends in emotion regulation, we expected to find age-related changes in the examined association. ...
Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic factor in the development of various mental and behavioral disorders, thus requiring ample evidence for prevention and intervention approaches. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the association between parenting dimensions/styles and emotion dysregulation in childhood and adolescence. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the review was registered (PROSPERO CRD42021251672) and search terms were entered in Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and PubMed in May 2021. Articles needed to report on empirical studies that examined the association between parenting dimensions/styles and emotion dysregulation in children/adolescents with primary data, and be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal. Additionally, articles were excluded based on certain designs and focus on special populations. The narrative synthesis includes 30 articles, and of which 27 are included in the meta-analysis. An NHLBI tool with 14 items (e.g., validity) was utilized for assessing the quality of the included studies. General trends indicate that positive parenting (e.g., warmth, supportiveness) is negatively associated with emotion dysregulation, whilst negative parenting (e.g., psychological control, authoritarian) is positively associated. The meta-analysis reveals an overall small yet significant effect, however, the heterogeneity of the studies is moderate to high. A funnel plot demonstrated no evidence of publication bias. Limitations include the varying conceptualizations of emotion dysregulation, as well as a lacking focus on specific types of emotion. Although more research is needed, addressing factors such as culture, gender, and age, the review provides first indications of the significance of parenting dimensions/styles for emotion dysregulation.
... Similarly, the literature has primarily focused on female children and adolescents' development for a series of methodological, policy, and theoretical reasons-menarche is easier to measure than adrenarche, women's teen pregnancies are seen as a larger social problem (Card and Wise 1978), and the tradeoffs between early reproduction, and somatic and educational investments may be starker for women (Ellis 2004). However, direct comparisons are rare and generally there seems to be few clear patterns regarding the interaction of parent and child sex on developmental outcomes (Russell and Saebel 1997). Our study shows that the developmental consequences of family disruptions on age at first birth tend to be larger for daughters, but can be as severe for sons as they are for daughters (e.g., mothers' deaths was more strongly associated with sons' than daughters' ages at first birth in the index generation). ...
Several studies have found that parental absences in childhood are associated with individuals’ reproductive strategies later in life. However, these associations vary across populations and the reasons for this heterogeneity remain debated. In this paper, we examine the diversity of parental associations in three ways. First, we test whether different kinds of parental availability in childhood and adolescence are associated with women’s and men’s ages at first birth using the intergenerational and longitudinal Uppsala Birth Cohort Study (UBCoS) dataset from Sweden. This cultural context provides a strong test of the hypothesis that parents influence life history strategies given that robust social safety nets may buffer parental absences. Second, we examine whether investments in education help explain why early parental presence is associated with delayed ages at first birth in many post-industrial societies, given that parents often support educational achievement. Third, we compare parental associations with reproductive timing across two adjacent generations in Sweden. This historical contrast allows us to control for many sources of heterogeneity while examining whether changing educational access and norms across the 20th-century change the magnitude and pathways of parental influence. We find that parental absences tend to be associated with earlier first births, and more reliably so for women. Many of these associations are partially mediated by university attendance. However, we also find important differences across cohorts. For example, the associations with paternal death become similar for sons and daughters in the more recent cohort. One possible explanation for this finding is that fathers start influencing sons and daughters more similarly. Our results illustrate that historical changes within a population can quickly shift how family affects life history.
... Mothers and daughters communicate and interact in ways that are unlike other family dyads (Alford & Harrigan, 2019;Alford & Miller-Day, 2019;Fischer, 1986;Miller-Day, 2013;Russell & Saebel, 1997;Shrier et al., 2004). Out of all family relationships, the mother-daughter relationship is most likely to remain important for both parties, even when major life changes occur (Bojczyk et al., 2011;Miller-Day, 2004), marking this role pair as unique, important, and long-lasting. ...
This study explores the mother-daughter relationship by examining daughters’ constructions of the mother-daughter relationship in adulthood. Using the guiding concepts of symbolic interactionism and interactional role theory, this study explores the discursive constructions of the adult daughter role through daughters’ stories of everyday daughtering. I conducted in-depth interviews with 33 adult daughters in the United States between the ages 25–44, each with a healthy, living mother. Findings indicate that adult daughtering is an effortful and agentic process that contributes to a thriving mother-daughter relationship. Additionally, the agentic performance of adult daughtering is largely hidden from society’s notice resulting in an unfortunate lack of language for role players to discuss it. Practical implications for mother-daughter pairs are discussed and tips are provided for practitioners who help mothers and daughters thrive.
... This pattern is consistent with the gendered theory of parenting (Liu, 2020). According to the gendered theory of parenting, the gender of children and parents may simultaneously influence parenting styles as well as parent-child relationships (Russell and Saebel, 1997). This gendered pattern may be reinforced in the Chinese culture characterized by traditional gender stereotypes or gender-specific expectations: the boys should be manliness and hard and the girls should be gentle and soft (Liu, 2006). ...
After more than three decades of implementation, China’s one-child policy has generated a large number of only children. Although extensive research has documented the developmental outcomes of being an only child, research on the parent–child relational quality of the only child is somewhat limited. Using China Education Panel Survey (2014), this study examined whether the only child status was associated with parent–child relationships among Chinese junior high school students. It further explored whether children’s gender moderated the association between the only child status and parent–child relationships. Two-level ordered logit models suggested that only children were more likely to report a close relationship with their mothers and fathers compared to children from multiple-child families (including two-child families). Taking birth order into consideration, we found that, only children were more likely to have close parent–child relationships than firstborns, whereas no significant differences were found between only children and lastborns. Interaction analyses further suggested that the only child advantages were gender-specific: the positive effects of the only child status were stronger for daughters than for sons, that is, daughters benefited more from being only children. Our findings highlight the importance of considering children’s gender and birth order in exploring the only child effects in the Chinese context. Additional analyses about sibling-gender composition indicated female children were more likely to be disadvantaged with the presence of younger brothers, whereas male children benefited more from having older sisters. This reveals that the son preference culture is still deep-rooted in the Chinese multiple-child families.
... We had no specific expectations for the comparison of mother and father conditions. However, based on prior studies showing that mother-child relationships are often reported to be closer than father-child relationships, we explored vicarious reward processing for mothers and fathers separately (Russell & Saebel, 1997;Solomon, Warin, Lewis, & Langford, 2002). ...
This study investigated the neural processes underlying vicarious joy and their dependence on emotional closeness. Prior studies revealed that the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a target brain region for processing rewards for self, but the neural mechanisms of processing rewards for others are not yet well understood. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm was employed in young adults ( N = 30), in combination with a self-report questionnaire on the perceived emotional closeness to the target. We examined the neural correlates of vicarious rewards when winning money for oneself or one of three other targets. To examine family relationships, two of the targets were the mother and father of the participants, and the third target was an unknown stranger. We found an increase in activation in the NAcc when playing for family members compared with a stranger. We further observed a difference in neural activation when winning for the father compared with the mother in an extended network involving the medial prefrontal cortex and precuneus, brain regions involved in mentalizing. These findings were not related to reports of emotional closeness. This new paradigm has considerable value for future research into the fundamental neural processes underlying empathy and vicarious joy.
... Furthermore, most authors have failed to consider the fact that patterns of interaction in family relationships depend on the sex of both the parent and the adolescent (Hoeve et al., 2011;Russel & Saebel, 1997). For example, studies have shown that girls report more attachment security with mothers and fathers during adolescence than boys do, although these conclusions are controversial (Ruhl et al., 2015). ...
The present study explored the links between the quality of adolescents’ attachment to their mother and their father, separation anxiety and suicidal ideation. Self-report questionnaires were completed by French adolescents (n = 455; Mage = 15.78 years, SD = 1.61) to probe their attachment styles, separation anxiety (related to school phobia, a secure base, and family members), and suicidal ideation. Avoidantly attached adolescents displayed greater school phobia than securely attached adolescents. Female adolescents with an avoidant attachment to their father tended to report less fear related to family members than their secure counterparts. Male adolescents who were insecurely attached to their mother reported more separation anxiety than securely attached males. The structural models were significant for both boys and girls (R² = .38 and .44, p < .001) with good fit indices. Mediation analyses revealed that separation anxiety partially mediated the negative effect of attachment to mother (especially alienation) on suicidal ideation for both girls and boys, and partially mediated the negative effect of attachment to father (especially alienation) on suicidal ideation for boys. These results support an individuated conception of attachment patterns, with a differential influence of dyadic relationships, and could provide a better understanding of adolescents’ suicidal ideation.
... This process takes place as part of everyday interactions between parent and child (Grusec et al., 2000;Rohan and Zanna, 1996). Additionally, children often more strongly emulate the values of their same-gender parent than their oppositegender parent (Starrels, 1994;Vollebergh et al., 1999); fathers more strongly influence their sons' values (Kulik, 2002;Roest et al., 2010); mothers more strongly influence their daughters' values (Barni et al., 2011;Russell and Saebel, 1997). ...
Purpose
This paper compares the work values of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) millennials with their parents.
Design/methodology/approach
The Chinese version of the multidimensional work ethic profile (1. productive use of time; 2. centrality of work; 3. hard work; 4. delay of gratification; 5. leisure; 6. self-reliance; and 7. moral reasoning) was used to survey PRC millennials and their parents. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for comparing work values for a subsample of 68 same-gender parent/child dyads. A one-way ANOVA was used for comparing the work values of the total sample of 217 PRC millennials and their parents.
Findings
The repeated measures ANOVA found that one of the seven work values for the male dyads and three of the seven work values for the female dyads were significantly different. The one-way ANOVA found that four of the seven work values for males grouping and five of the seven work values for the females grouping were significantly different.
Research limitations/implications
Social norms and socialization by parents may moderate the influences of changing social conditions on personal values formation predicted by the theory of generations. Researchers need to sample across demographic and socioeconomic subgroups to understand subgroup differences when conducting cross-generational research. Taking large samples, aggregating data and drawing conclusions about cross-generational values may not be a valid approach in trying to understand the complexity of cross-generational values differences.
Practical implications
Managers should be wary of broad declarations about cross-generational values differences. The differences in generational values are nuanced.
Originality/value
This paper shows when controlling for same-gender parents, cross-generational values are very similar. This contrasts other findings on cross-generational values.
... The interpersonal nature of emotions and their regulation suggests that the presence of another parent or a sibling could influence the dynamic process of transmission and this is an empirical question (see Saxbe et al., 2014). Second, while gender concordance of the dyad (i.e., mother-daughter vs. mother-son) may be related to emotional processes in the parent-child relationship (Russell & Saebel, 1997), we did not have the power or the distribution of daughters and sons in respective dyads to test for this effect. Future work designed to examine the role of parent-child dyad gender concordance could further elucidate how parent emotion and its regulation influences child emotional outcomes. ...
Parents can influence children's emotional responses through direct and subtle behavior. In this study we examined how parents' acute stress responses might be transmitted to their 7- to 11-year-old children and how parental emotional suppression would affect parents' and children's physiological responses and behavior. Parents and their children (N = 214; Ndyads = 107; 47% fathers) completed a laboratory visit where we initially separated the parents and children and subjected the parent to a standardized laboratory stressor that reliably activates the body's primary stress systems. Before reuniting with their children, parents were randomly assigned to either suppress their affective state-hide their emotions from their child-or to act naturally (control condition). Once reunited, parents and children completed a conflict conversation and two interaction tasks together. We measured their sympathetic nervous system (SNS) responses and observed interaction behavior. We obtained three key findings: (a) suppressing mothers' SNS responses influenced their child's SNS responses; (b) suppressing fathers' SNS responses were influenced by their child's SNS responses; and (c) dyads with suppressing parents appeared less warm and less engaged during interaction than control dyads. These findings reveal that parents' emotion regulation efforts impact parent-child stress transmission and compromise interaction quality. Discussion focuses on short-term and long-term consequences of parental emotion regulation and children's social-emotional development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
... Moreover, Powell, Son, File, and San Juan (2010) reported that parents perceived the responsiveness of their child's prekindergarten teacher differently depending on their child's gender. One reason behind the possible gender differences in parent-teacher trust may be that the parent-child relationship sometimes differs depending on the gender of the parent and the child (Russel & Saebel, 1997). Another reason might be the difference in gender-related expectations for girls and boys: Girls are expected to be well-behaving and better regulated (Tolman & Porche, 2000) whereas boys are expected to be strong and independent (Mahalik et al., 2003). ...
... Previous studies showed that mothers and fathers are different in their interaction styles (Russelll and Russell 1987;Russell and Saebel 1997). Research has shown that mothers generally engage in more supportive parenting practices, and fathers engage in more assertive and controlling practices (Rohner and Pettengill 1985). ...
We examined the associations among parent–child relationships, two types of parenting practices (helicopter parenting and autonomy support), and college students’ perceived academic outcomes. Participants were from a private university in Upstate New York. Structural equation modeling was utilized to examine the above associations. Results showed that mothers’ autonomy support was positively associated with children’s academic control, whereas fathers’ helicopter parenting was negatively related to children’s academic control. Regarding the mediation effects, the mother–child relationship mediated the association between mothers’ two types of parenting practices and children’s academic control. However, the mediating effects of the father–child relationship in the association between fathers’ two types of parenting practices and children’s academic control were not significant. Consequently, our findings indicate that helicopter parenting and autonomy support could be related to fathers’ and mothers’ parenting contexts. We suggest that autonomy support is an appropriate parenting practice for promoting college students’ academic success as well as enhancing the parent–child relationship. In addition, we suggest that helicopter parenting is not advantageous for developing college students’ academic control, but could be beneficial for the parent–child relationship. These mixed effects of helicopter parenting on college students’ relational and academic-related outcomes should be investigated further. Moving beyond the dichotomous perspective regarding autonomy support and helicopter parenting, we believe that it is necessary to strengthen understanding of their merits and provide guidance for parents who have college-aged children to enable them to employ more developmentally appropriate parenting practices.
... The specific ways that a parent's difficulties play out in parentchild relationships may differ between fathers and mothers, as parental gender is a significant factor that influences relationship quality (Russell & Saebel, 1997;Umberson et al., 2010). Adult children have more frequent contact with mothers compared to fathers Swartz, 2009) and have more affectionate and intimate relationships with mothers (Fingerman, 2001;Rossi & Rossi, 1990). ...
Contact and relationship quality between adult children and aging parents are two widely used indicators of intergenerational solidarity and are often assumed to be positively correlated. However, the association between the two may depend on characteristics of the parent involved. Using Family Exchanges Study Wave 1, this study assessed whether parental difficulties—measured as functional limitations and life problems—and gender moderated the associations between middle-aged adults’ contact and relationship quality with their parents. We found that more frequent email or phone contact was associated with worse relationship quality for fathers who had functional limitations. For life problems, however, more contact was not related to relationship quality for fathers with life problems. The associations did not differ by mother’s difficulties. These results suggest that frequent contact between middle-aged adult children and aging parents does not uniformly reflect better relationship quality but rather depends on parents’ characteristics.
... The study of Headey et al. (2014) recruited adult children, which is different from the adolescent sample in the present study. Parentchild relationships can vary across different age groups (Russell and Saebel 1997), and therefore may influence the transmission of happiness between parents and children. Additional studies are needed to confirm whether age could play a role in the association between children's and parental happiness. ...
Psychological well-being is contagious within families. However, two key issues remain unresolved: a) which type of well-being is transmitted and b) who transmits to whom The present study aims to answer these two questions by drawing on a longitudinal and nationally representative sample to examine a) whether both positive and negative aspects of well-being can be transmitted and b) whether both parents and children transmit well-being to each other. Analyses were conducted using the China Family Panel Studies data in 2010 (2971 adolescents and their parents) and 2014. Cross-lagged analysis showed that the positive aspect of well-being (i.e., subjective well-being, SWB) was almost fully transmitted among all family members. In contrast, the negative aspect of well-being (i.e., psychological distress, PD) was transmitted only from fathers to mothers and from fathers to adolescent children. A gender-specific effect emerged such that sons rather than daughters predicted fathers’ SWB. Well-being contagion in families was more robust for the positive aspect of well-being. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
... Parental relational dimensions within such profiles may consequently have a larger influence than the three friendship relational dimensions. Additionally, there is evidence that adolescents may report slight differences in the quality of their relationship with their fathers and mothers, but that they report a similar pattern of relationship development for both parents across time (e.g., De Goede et al. 2009b;Russell and Saebel 1997). Our global approach of parent-adolescent relationships combined with friendships thus seemed a good starting point to show the merits of person-centered method for relationship development research. ...
... By including mothering behaviors in our conceptual model, we examined which fathering behaviors were significant after accounting for mothering. Additionally, we considered differences based on adolescent gender because of evidence suggesting that girls and boys differ in how they are influenced by relationships with their parents (Jeynes, 2016;Reeb & Conger, 2009;Russell & Saebel, 1997). ...
Research suggests fathers are important to adolescent well-being, yet there is limited information regarding how fathering is associated with adolescent risk and resilience in Mexican American families. This cross-sectional study utilized a structural equation model to examine whether parent–child alienation mediated the relations between parental displays of warmth and hostility and the outcomes of adolescent resilience and delinquency in Mexican American families (N = 272). Results indicated that adolescent-perceived alienation from parents was a significant predictor of both resilience and delinquency. Additionally, alienation mediated the relations between father warmth and resilience and father warmth and delinquency, as well as the relations between mother hostility and adolescent outcomes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
... Lastly, some research suggests that the relationship and interactions between mothers and daughters versus mothers and sons may differ (Kerig et al., 1993;Russell and Saebel, 1997). For example, parents have been found to encourage traditionally sex-typed activities (Lytton and Romney, 1991) and more risk-taking in sons and caution in daughters (Morrongiello and Dawber, 1999). ...
Coordinated brain activity between individuals, or inter-brain synchrony, has been shown to increase during cooperation and correlate with cooperation success. However, few studies have examined parent-child inter-brain synchrony and whether it is associated with meaningful aspects of the parent-child relationship. Here, we measured inter-brain synchrony in the right prefrontal (PFC) and temporal cortices in mother-child dyads while they engaged in a cooperative and independent task. We tested whether inter-brain synchrony in mother-child dyads (1) increases during cooperation, (2) differs in mother-son versus mother-daughter dyads, and (3) is related to cooperation performance and the attachment relationship. Overall inter-brain synchrony in the right hemisphere, and the right dorsolateral and frontopolar PFC in particular, was higher during cooperation. Mother-son dyads showed less inter-brain synchrony during the independent task and a stronger increase in synchrony in response to cooperation than mother-daughter dyads. Lastly, we did not find strong evidence for links between inter-brain synchrony and child attachment. Mother-child cooperation may increase overall inter-brain synchrony, although differently for mother-son versus mother-daughter dyads. More research is needed to better understand the potential role of overall inter-brain synchrony in mother-child cooperation, and the potential link between inter-brain synchrony and attachment.
... Both the quantity and quality of the third variable, communication, have been shown to be important predictors of relational satisfaction in father-daughter relationships (Dunleavy, Wanzer, Krezmien, & Ruppel, 2011;Punyanunt-Carter, 2005). Previous findings have indicated that communication between fathers and daughters tends to be more limited than communication between mothers and daughters and that daughters tend to receive more positive treatment from their fathers than do sons (Youniss & Ketterlinus, 1987), suggesting that differences in communication may be one of the factors that distinguish father-daughter relationships from other relationships within a family system (Russell & Saebel, 1997). Punyanunt-Carter (2005) also found that fathers' and daughters' satisfaction with their relationship was greatest when they communicated with one another for pleasure and when both parties engaged in communication maintenance behaviors. ...
Objective
To investigate whether the interpersonal dynamics of closeness are different in stepfather–stepdaughter versus father–daughter relationships during adolescence.
Background
Establishing a general process model of the relational factors contributing to greater closeness between fathers and daughters is a preliminary step toward examining variations in such processes.
Method
The data were from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, a nationally representative sample of adolescents. Respondents were female adolescents who were living with either a biological father (n = 1,881) or stepfather (n = 273) and reported on the availability and involvement of their (step)fathers, as well as the communication and closeness in their relationship with him.
Results
Involvement and communication were predictors of closeness in both types of relationships, however, communication was a stronger predictor of closeness between stepfathers and stepdaughters. For adolescent girls living with a stepfather, greater involvement with their stepfathers was associated with greater closeness to their nonresident biological fathers. The length of the relationship between stepfathers and stepdaughters was not associated with levels of closeness.
Conclusions
Overall, these findings suggest that stepfather–stepdaughter relationships reflect similar interpersonal dynamics as father–daughter relationships but that establishing and maintaining these relationships through meaningful communication may be particularly important for stepfathers and stepdaughters.
Implications
Practitioners working to help stepfamilies build stronger relationships may want to stress that investing in shared activities and maintaining meaningful communication can be particularly important for establishing and maintaining positive relationships between stepfathers and stepdaughters.
This paper estimates family spillovers in high school major choice in Sweden, where admission to oversubscribed majors is determined based on GPA. Using a regression discontinuity design, we find large sibling and intergenerational spillovers that depend on the sex mix of a dyad. Same-sex siblings copy one another, while younger brothers recoil from an older sister’s choices. Fathers and mothers influence sons but not their daughters, except when a mother majors in the male-dominated program of engineering. Back-of-the-envelope calculations reveal that these within-family spillovers have sizable implications for the sex composition of majors. (JEL I21, J12, J13, J16)
Positive effects of parent–child play have been documented but little is known about what drives this play. We observed eight-one children (kindergarten through 1st grade) of their play with the mother and father separately to determine how the play role of parents changed based on parent gender, child gender, and play context. Two significant 3-way interactions were identified: (1) parents of boys acted more often as directors in a puppet game, as facilitators in a building block game, and as co-players in a ball game, whereas parents of girls were more likely to be co-players in the puppet and building block games but facilitators in the ball game; (2) fathers tended to be directors more often than co-players in the ball game, while the opposite was true for mothers. Findings point to the important interplay of gender and context in determining the roles that parents enact when playing with children.
Can access to medical marijuana improve parenting? We examine the consequences of state‐level medical marijuana legalization (MML) on parents' time use. Medical marijuana may increase parenting time by improving parents' health but only if parents do not abuse marijuana. We find that MML increases parenting time, with bigger impacts for those less likely to abuse marijuana. The effects correspond to 12.56% of the gap in active childcare and 8.92% of the gap in passive childcare by parents' education level. MML also reduces inactive time and increases sleep, consistent with medical marijuana's health benefits.
Bu çalışma baba katılımının potansiyel sosyodemografik öncüllerinin toplumsal cinsiyet perspektifinden yorumlanması amacıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. 5-6 yaş grubunda çocuğu olan babalardan (n= 377) anket yoluyla, aile ve çalışma durumu değişkenleri, baba katılımı (ve alt boyutlarının) düzeyleri ve toplumsal cinsiyete yönelik tutumları hakkında bilgi alınmıştır. Analizler bağımsız t testi ve ANOVA ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bulgulara göre, babaların ilgi ve yakınlık puanlarının çocuğun cinsiyetinden etkilenebildiği, çocuk doğum sırası arttığında keyfi meşguliyet boyutu puanının düşebildiği, çocuğun cinsiyetine dair beklentisi olmayan babaların ilgi ve yakınlık puanlarının yüksek olduğu, babaların eğitim düzeyinin yükselmesi ile eşitlikçi tutumun ve baba katılım düzeyinin ayrı ayrı ilişkili olabileceği görülmüştür. Bunun yanında, çalışma durumunun baba katılım boyutlarından bazılarını etkileyebileceği, ancak kazanç düzeyinin etkilemediği bulunmuştur. Eşitlikçilik puanları yüksek olan babaların daha eğitimli ve daha çok kazanan kadınlarla evli olduğu; daha çok kazanan eşlerle evli olan babaların farklı boyutlarda daha katılımcı olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bulgular yorumlandığında, baba katılımının çocuk cinsiyeti ve sayısı ile ilişkili olabileceği, anne-baba çalışma durumlarından etkilendiği; anneye dair değişkenlerin birçok alt boyutta baba katılımını etkiliyor olabileceği söylenebilmektedir. Bu değişkenler babaların toplumsal cinsiyete dair tutumu ile karşılaştırıldığında, eşitlikçi babaların daha az çocuk yaptığı, farklı alanlarda daha çok katılım gösterdiği ve daha yüksek eğitimli kadınlarla evli olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Son olarak, babaların evlenecekleri kişiye yönelik tercihlerinin, temelde babaların cinsiyet eşitliğine yönelik tutumlarıyla ilgili olabileceği, annelerin çalışma hayatlarının babaları katılıma yönlendiriyor olabileceği tartışılmıştır. Üretilen bir diğer varsayım ise, daha eşitlikçi yaklaşıma sahip olup daha çok katılım gösterebilecek erkeklerin, kadınlar tarafından seçilebiliyor olduğuna yöneliktir.
This study applied the time‐varying effect model (TVEM) to data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to explore how self‐esteem mediated age‐varying associations of closeness to mother and father and their child's sexual behavior through adolescence and emerging adulthood. Paternal closeness is associated with lesser odds of sexual behaviors for both female and male adolescents until age 20, whereas maternal closeness only predicts for female adolescents between ages 13 and 15. Self‐esteem mediated the association between mother closeness and multiple partners in male adolescents between ages 14.5 and 16.5. Fathers have an impact on adolescent sexual behavior across adolescence and emerging adulthood, while mothers' roles are more important for female adolescents in early adolescence.
This study drew on data from the National Child Development Study to explore the role of father involvement and mother involvement at age 7 in father- child and mother-child relations at age 16, and the role of closeness to father and closeness to mother at age 16 in quality of relationship with partner at age 33. Closeness to mother was associated with closeness to father, intact family structure and academic motivation, and closeness to father with closeness to mother, early father involvement, less emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence, male gender and academic motivation. Closeness to father at age 16 was more strongly related to level of father involvement at age 7 for daughters than for sons and to closeness to mother for sons than for daughters. Marital adjustment at age 33 was related to good relationships with siblings, mother, and father at age 16; less current psychological distress; female gender; and educational attainment.
Objectives: This study investigated how fathers’ use of psychological control affects adolescents’ subjective well-being, mediated by their internalized shame and ambivalent emotional expression. Additionally, potential gender differences in these relationships were also examined.Methods: A total of 235 middle-school students (118 boys, 117 girls) were recruited and independent samples t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficient analysis, and structural equation modeling were utilized for data analysis. Potential differences in the pathways based on adolescents’ gender were explored via multi-group analysis.Results: Fathers’ psychological control had a direct impact on girls’ subjective well-being, but only indirect effects on boys’ and girls’ subjective well-being through internalized shame. The indirect effect of fathers’ psychological control on boys’ subjective well-being through ambivalent emotional expression was significant, but not for girls. Lastly, the indirect effect on boys’ subjective well-being through internalized shame and ambivalent emotional expression was significant. The paths between fathers’ psychological control and adolescents’ internalized shame, as well as between adolescents’ ambivalent emotional expression and subjective well-being, exhibited significant gender differences.Conclusion: These results demonstrate that fathers’ use of psychological control significantly impacts adolescents’ subjective well-being, but in different ways for boys and girls. Thus, it is crucial to consider the differing roles of fathers in parent-child relationships during adolescence, and to develop tailored parent and family education programs accordingly.
Υπάρχει σημαντικός αριθμός ερευνών για την επίδραση της γονικής συμπεριφοράς στην αυτοεκτίμηση των εφήβων· ωστόσο, η Διαγενεακή Μεταφορά της αυτοεκτίμησης παραμένει ακόμη ένα ανοικτό πεδίο έρευνας. Η παρούσα μελέτη επικεντρώνεται στη μελέτη της Διαγενεακής Μεταφοράς της αυτοεκτίμησης από τη μητέρα στο εφηβικής ηλικίας τέκνο της, με πιθανούς ρυθμιστικούς παράγοντες το φύλο και τη σειρά γέννησης του εφήβου καθώς και διαμεσολαβητικούς παράγοντες τη γονικότητα της μητέρας και τον τρόπο που την αντιλαμβάνεται ο έφηβος. Συμμετείχαν 201 δυάδες μητέρων-εφήβων ηλικίας 14 ετών, οι οποίοι συμπλήρωσαν μέσω ηλεκτρονικών φορμών την «Κλίμακα Αυτοεκτίμησης του Rosenberg», το «Ερωτηματολόγιο Γονικής Συμπεριφοράς» και την «Κλίμακα Συναισθηματικής Σύνδεσης». Όσον αφορά την αυτοεκτίμηση, τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ηλικιακές και διαφυλικές διαφορές, όπως και διαφορές σχετικά με τη σειρά γέννησης, καθώς και σημαντική αλληλεπίδραση μεταξύ τους. Η αυτοεκτίμηση της μητέρας φάνηκε να επιδρά σημαντικά στην αυτοεκτίμηση του εφήβου, επιβεβαιώνοντας την υπόθεση της Διαγενεακής Μεταφοράς. Ο ρυθμιστικός ρόλος του φύλου, καθώς και η αλληλεπίδραση του φύλου με τη σειρά γέννησης έδειξε ισχυρότερη επίδραση ανάμεσα στην αυτοεκτίμηση μητέρας-κόρης, ιδίως της πρωτότοκης. Επιπλέον, επιβεβαιώθηκε ο διαμεσολαβητικός ρόλος της γονικότητας όπως την αντιλαμβάνεται ο έφηβος, αλλά όχι η μητέρα, εξηγώντας μερικώς τη Διαγενεακή Μεταφορά της αυτοεκτίμησης.
Background
Parental neglect has been shown to be associated with adolescents' peer alienation. However, few previous studies have considered parental phubbing as a new form of social neglect during parent-child interactions related to adolescents' peer alienation, and much less is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship.
Objective
The present study explored the relationship between father phubbing (Fphubbing) and mother phubbing (Mphubbing) and adolescents' peer alienation. Moreover, it examined whether adolescents' perceived paternal and maternal rejection mediate these associations.
Participants and setting
A sample of 1140 students (Mage = 12.18 years, SD = 0.90) completed the measures of parental phubbing, parental rejection, and peer alienation.
Methods
Structural equation modeling was used to assess the direct effects of Fphubbing and Mphubbing on adolescents' peer alienation and their indirect effects through adolescents' perceived paternal and maternal rejection as mediators.
Results
The results indicated that Fphubbing and Mphubbing were positively related to adolescents' peer alienation. Perceived maternal rejection mediated the relationship between Mphubbing and adolescents' peer alienation. The relationship between Mphubbing and maternal rejection was stronger for adolescent girls.
Conclusions
Our study offers a preliminary understanding of how parental phubbing associates with adolescents' peer alienation through the mediating role of adolescents' perceived parental rejection, which has certain theoretical and practical implications for comprehending adolescents' peer alienation in the mobile age.
Trustful parents often have trustful children. Yet it is unclear whether this intergenerational correlation of trust is due to genetic inheritance, shared experiences, or parental socialization. In this article, I suggest that a dyadic approach that differentiates same-sex (mother-daughter and father-son) and cross-sex (mother-son and father-daughter) dyads provides important insights into these potential mechanisms. My analysis of a unique parent-child paired data set created from the Chinese Family Panel Studies (2012–2016) reveals several transmission patterns. First, mothers are generally more influential than fathers in the trust transmission process. Second, there is greater transmission between same-sex generational dyads than between cross-sex pairs. Third, parental homogeneity moderates the transmission process. These patterns are hard to explain with genetic or environmental influences, but they are fully compatible with differential socialization theories. The overall evidence indicates that parental socialization is more likely the primary process underlying how trust is transmitted intergenerationally.
The article reports initial results of children’s subjective wellbeing survey in Pakistan. The survey was carried out in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. A total of 3600 children, within the age group 8 to 12 years, took part in the survey. This research is a sequel of the International Survey of Children’s Wellbeing (ISCWeB) dealing with children’s perceptions regarding their wellbeing. It encompasses the views of children about their family, peer relation, safety, agency, economic conditions and education. Moreover, it investigated their level of satisfaction with themselves, thus focusing on their overall well-being. The researcher found that children are highly satisfied with their lives. Among the three age categories, the highest level of satisfaction was showed by the eight years old age group, within that girls have higher results in comparison with boys. However, the lowest results were seen among children of twelve years old. Furthermore, no significant differences were seen in the wellbeing of children based on the area they live in. Nonetheless, a slightly higher satisfaction was observed among the children living in rural areas.
Parenting is a broad construct that comprises stable and durable attitudes and behaviors regarding child-rearing. Since mothers and fathers play different roles in the family, parenting styles and practices in childhood and adolescence may differ depending on the parents' and adolescents' gender. While gender differences in parenting are theoretically warranted, the research literature in this field is considerably limited and lacking conclusive information dealing with this question. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to aggregate and synthesize the available research studies containing significant findings on the differences between mothers and fathers in parenting styles and practices. For that purpose, we conducted a systematic search of the PsycInfo, Scopus, Eric, and Web of Science databases, covering literature published from 1990 to 2020. The search was restricted to peer-reviewed studies in English alone. Our findings reveal that mothers as compared to fathers are perceived as more accepting, responsive, and supportive, as well as more behaviorally controlling, demanding, and autonomy granting than fathers. Accordingly, in the studies comparing parents on the constructs of overall parenting styles, mothers were predominantly more authoritative than fathers, and fathers were mostly more authoritarian than mothers (based on both parent and descendant reports). These parental differences established by research from over 15 countries around the globe seem to apply similarly for male and female descendants, while principally not varying by their age.
Research about parental marital satisfaction and parent–child relationships is well established, but the effects of marital satisfaction on parental satisfaction require more explanation in a Korean sample. In total, 2,070 participants (51.0% mothers, 49.0% fathers) from a nationally representative sample of Korean people were selected from the 2015 Fact-Finding Survey in Families, and structural equation modeling was performed to examine the relationships between marital satisfaction, parent–child relational quality, and parental satisfaction. In support of the spillover hypothesis, marital satisfaction was significantly correlated with parental satisfaction and affected it directly and indirectly via positive and negative parent–child relationship quality. In addition, mediational pathways differed according to sex. The implications of the findings and directions for future research were discussed.
Introduction
How youth cope with academic challenges has important implications for their academic outcomes. The contributions of parental involvement have been relatively well-established; however, few, if any studies have investigated the role of parental socialization of academic coping (i.e., coping suggestions) in shaping youth coping with academic challenges.
Methods
Using a community sample from the United States, we utilized a multi-informant, longitudinal design to investigate the prospective association between parental socialization of academic coping and adolescent coping with academic challenges. Adolescent gender was also examined as a moderator of associations. Participants included 86 two-parent families (54% boys; 38–52% ethnic minorities). At Time 1, mothers and fathers reported on their problem-solving, help-seeking, and disengaged coping suggestions in response to three hypothetical academic challenge scenarios (i.e., forgetting about or performing poorly on an assignment, difficulties managing academic demands). At Times 1 and 2, adolescents reported on their coping strategies (e.g., strategizing, help-seeking, escape) in response to academic challenges.
Results
Father-reported problem-focused suggestions were associated with youths' more adaptive coping (e.g., strategizing, help-seeking) over time. Interestingly, father-reported disengaged suggestions were associated with less maladaptive coping over time. Further, adolescent gender moderated associations linking mothers' and fathers' problem-focused suggestions and fathers’ help-seeking and disengaged suggestions with adolescent coping over time.
Conclusions
Overall, fathers' coping suggestions were associated with more adaptive coping for girls as compared with boys. Findings highlight the role of parental socialization of coping, particularly fathers’ role, in the academic domain.
This study examines the relative effects of physical and verbal discipline on Chinese adolescents’ bonds to parents and whether the relationship between parental discipline and adolescent–parent bonds may be gender- and domain-specific. Data drawn from over 500 middle school students from an urban city in China yielded results generally consistent with the hypotheses. Harsh discipline is significantly associated with a reduction in adolescent–parent bonds and verbal discipline exerts stronger overall effects than physical punishment. Furthermore, the effects of harsh discipline depend on the gender of adolescents and parents as well as domains of parental harshness. Father’s physical discipline is associated with a reduction in father–son closeness, whereas mother’s physical punishment is linked to the declined mother–daughter relationship. Meanwhile, father’s verbal discipline lowers girls’ bonds to father, whereas mother’s verbal harshness is associated with lower bonds of boys to both parents and girls’ bonds to mother only. Additionally, interactive effects are observed. Father’s verbal discipline is associated with a stronger detachment of girls to father and father’s physical discipline is related to higher bonds of girls to mother when mother applies low verbal or physical discipline. Lastly, physical and verbal discipline rendered by mother jointly reduces girls’ bonds to father.
SYNOPSIS
Objective. The focus of this study is on changes in the strength of relations among four types of paternal behaviors (supportive presence, respect for autonomy, stimulation, and hostility) from early childhood through middle childhood. Design. Father-child interaction was observed for 718 dyads at four time periods: 54 months (M = 56 months), 1st grade (M = 7.0 years), 3rd grade (M = 9.0 years), and 5th grade (M = 11.0 years) using similar and age-appropriate observational paradigms. Results. The association between paternal supportive presence and respect for autonomy grew stronger with age. Supportive presence showed a moderate relation with stimulation at 54 months; but this association became weaker over time. A similar pattern of weakening association emerged in the relation between respect for autonomy and stimulation. Both supportive presence and respect for autonomy showed a continuing robust negative association with hostility. Finally, the relation between hostility and stimulation became stronger over time. Conclusions. There appears to be an evolving dialectic in the organization of paternal behavior during interactions with offspring, with some relations strengthening and others becoming weaker. Critically, the bonds fathers have with their children in early childhood tend to remain firm through middle childhood, with paternal support less often reflecting itself in directly teaching a child but more often in showing respect for the child’s growing independence.
Introduction
Previous studies suggest that childhood experience of parental adversities increases the risk of subsequent offspring self-harm, but studies on distinct paternal and maternal characteristics are few and it remains unclear how these interact with childhood social position. The study aims to assess whether paternal and maternal adversities have different associations with offspring self-harm in adolescence and young adulthood. Interaction by offspring gender and childhood income are investigated, as well as cumulative effects of multiple adversities.
Methods
The study uses administrative register data on a 20% random sample of Finnish households with children aged 0–14 years in 2000. We follow children born in 1986–1998 (n=155 855) from their 13th birthday until 2011. Parental substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, criminality and hospitalisations due to interpersonal violence or self-harm are used to predict offspring self-harm with Cox proportional hazards models.
Results
The results show a clear increase in the risk of self-harm among those exposed to maternal or paternal adversities with HRs between 1.5 and 5.4 among boys and 1.7 and 3.9 among girls. The excess risks hold for every measure of maternal and paternal adversities after adjusting for childhood income and parental education. Evidence was found suggesting that low income, accumulation of adversity and female gender may exacerbate the consequences of adversities.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that both parents’ adversities increase the risk of self-harm and that multiple experiences of parental adversities in childhood are especially harmful, regardless of parent gender. Higher levels of childhood income can protect from the negative consequences of adverse experiences.
Yapılan çalışmanın hedefi Young şema alanlarının, Young uyumsuz baş etme biçimlerinin, Young ebeveynlik biçimlerinin Süpervizör A, Terapist B ve Hasta C arasındaki terapötik ittifakını ölçmekti. Bu vaka çalışması için, katılımcılar bir süpervizör (klinik psikoloji doktora öğrencisi), bir terapist (klinik psikoloji yüksek lisans öğrencisi) ve bir hastadan (AYNA klinik psikoloji ünitesine başvuran) oluşmaktaydı. Araştırmada, terapötik ittifakı ölçmek için niteliksel (araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen açık uçlu soru formu ve ilişkisel halkalar) ve niceliksel (terapötik ittifak ölçekleri/süpervizör-terapist formları ve terapist-hasta formları) olmak üzere iki farklı ölçüm biçimi kullanıldı. Sonuçlara göre, Young erken yaş dönemi uyumsuz şemaları, Young baş etme biçimleri, Young ebeveynlik biçimleri ile süpervizörler, terapistler ve hastaların terapötik ittifakları arasında bir ilişki olduğu tespit edildi. Çıkan sonuçlar Şema Teorisi çerçevesinde tartışıldı.
Parent stress has been associated with negative outcomes for youth and may be particularly high during adolescence. Mindfulness interventions have the potential to reduce parent stress and to improve parenting behavior and parent-child relationship quality. The present randomized controlled study examined effects of a parenting-focused mindfulness intervention, the Parenting Mindfully (PM) intervention, for highly stressed parents of adolescents. Eighty-three mothers of 12- to 17-year olds reporting high stress were randomly assigned to the PM intervention or to a minimal intervention Parent Education (PE) control group. At pre- and post-intervention, mothers reported on their mindfulness, stress, parenting stress, mindful parenting, and parent-adolescent relationship quality. At pre- and post-intervention, mothers’ observed parenting behaviors and reported negative emotional responses to a laboratory parent-adolescent interaction task (PAIT) were also collected. Findings indicated that the PM intervention, compared to PE, increased mothers’ mindfulness, reduced parenting stress in two domains, increased mindful parenting related to emotional awareness in parenting, and improved parent-adolescent relationship quality. For mothers of girls (but not mothers of boys), the PM intervention also decreased negative parenting behavior and decreased negative emotional responses in PAIT. Effects sizes were medium to large. In sum, findings support parenting-focused mindfulness training as a viable intervention strategy for highly stressed parents.
This study examined communication apprehension within parent–child relationships as a function of parental alienation and self-esteem. We posited that parental alienation in childhood was positively associated with parent–child communication apprehension in adulthood, and that self-esteem in adulthood mediated the association. Results from 211 college-aged students indicated that parental alienation from male and female caregivers in childhood was positively associated with communication apprehension with female caregivers in adulthood. In addition, parental alienation from male caregivers in childhood was positively associated with communication apprehension with male caregivers in adulthood. The findings also indicated a stronger positive relationship between parental alienation and parent–child communication apprehension when self-esteem was low rather than high.
The belief that child-parent attachment plays an important role in social development occupies center stage in most contemporary theories of childhood socialization. The origins of this belief are easily traceable to Freud’s emphasis on the significance of infant-mother attachment for virtually all aspects of subsequent personality development. Its endurance over the intervening decades has been sustained by a wealth of empirical data linking attachment to a wide range of socialization outcomes in both childhood and adulthood (Waters, Hay, & Richters, 1986).
Three studies examine beliefs that parents and teachers have about adolescents. A distinction is made between category-based beliefs (concerning adolescents as a group) and target-based beliefs (concerning individual adoles cents). In Study 1, 90 late elementary and junior high school teachers indicated degree of agreement with a set of category-based statements about adolescents. Parents of early adolescents in Study 2 (N=1272) responded to category- and target-based statements. Study 3 compares the responses of teachers in Study 1 and parents in Study 2. Both teachers and parents endorsed beliefs that adolescence is difficult, and that adults can have an impact. Compared to fathers, mothers believed more in difficulty and in the negative effects of biological change on behavior. Parents of daughters believed adolescence is more difficult than parents of sons. Among teachers, amount of experience with adolescents was positively associated with the belief that adolescence is a difficult period of life. For parents, the effect of amount of experience was mixed. Experience had a greater impact on the category-based beliefs of teachers than parents. Possible influences on the origins and modification of beliefs are discussed.
The purpose of this observational study was (1) to examine the process of parent-adolescent relationship change across puberty, and (2) to examine the relationship between affective expression in interactions and perceived relationship conflict. Data were collected on 85 intact families with adolescents in grades 5 to 9 (n = 44 males, 41 females). Each parent and adolescent took part in two 8-minute conversations one about an activity they reported enjoying together and one about a disagreement or area of conflict. Conversations were coded by speaker turn for positive, negative, neutral, mixed, and altered affect (kappa = .76). Regression analyses indicated that parents and adolescents expressed more negative and less positive affect in interactions as adolescents physically matured. In addition, adolescents' perceptions of relationship conflict were consistently related to parents' expressed emotions in interactions and paralleled trends for positive and negative affect across puberty. Findings are discussed in terms of understanding of the process of transforming parent-adolescent relations and family communication patterns across puberty.
Performed an analysis of recent research on sex and gender in terms of 3 major approaches: (a) sex as an S variable; (b) individual differences in masculinity, femininity, and androgyny; and (c) sex as a social category. The variance accounted for by main effect differences of S sex was found to be small in most cases. The unique contribution of androgyny, in the sense of a construct with emergent properties, is still uncertain, limiting the potential of the first 2 approaches. It is suggested that the impact of sex as a social category is considerable, but more detailed research is needed. From this perspective, the focus is not on how men and women differ, but on how people think they differ. Further advances in understanding gender will depend on more process-oriented approaches that will take into account both S and social category factors. (72 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Families with school-age children were interviewed 3 times, at 6-mo intervals (winter-summer-winter), to test whether summer brings discontinuity in family processes. Longitudinal patterns of parent–child involvement, parental monitoring, and children's involvement in activities were examined for 125 families in 3 groups: DDD (consistently dual-earner), SSS (consistently single-earner), and DSD (dual-earner at Times 1 and 3, single-earner over the summer). In SSS and DSD families, mothers became more involved with their children over the summer, and the division of parenting became more traditional (with mothers more involved than fathers), whereas DDD families maintained a more egalitarian division of parenting. DSD fathers monitored their children less over the summer, whereas DDD fathers became more knowledgeable about their children's activities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A meta-analysis of 172 studies attempted to resolve the conflict between previous narrative reviews on whether parents make systematic differences in their rearing of boys and girls. Most effect sizes were found to be nonsignificant and small. In North American studies, the only socialization area of 19 to display a significant effect for both parents is encouragement of sex-typed activities. In other Western countries, physical punishment is applied significantly more to boys. Fathers tend to differentiate more than mothers between boys and girls. Over all socialization areas, effect size is not related to sample size or year of publication. Effect size decreases with child's age and increases with higher quality. No grouping by any of these variables changes a nonsignificant effect to a significant effect. Because little differential socialization for social behavior or abilities can be found, other factors that may explain the genesis of documented sex differences are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes 2 studies, both concerned with the extent to which various household tasks are seen as easy or difficult to move from one family member to another. In Study 1, the informants (mothers and fathers) rated the ease of requests to a partner, teenaged son, or teenaged daughter. In Study 2, the informants (children aged 8, 11, and 14 yrs) commented on the feasibility of requests to a mother, father, sister, or brother. The studies were part of a general concern with the way work is understood, with particular attention given to distinctions drawn among tasks and among family members and to variations among family members in the ideas held about work and its possible distribution. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Each generation of American children across the tumultuous twentieth century has come of age in the different world. How do major historical events - such as war or the depression - influence children's development? Children in Time and Place brings together social historians and developmental psychologists to explore the implications of a changing society for children's growth and life chances. transitions provide a central theme, for historical transitions to the social transitions of children and their developmental experiences.
Divergent Realities: The Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers, and Adolescents. Reed Larson & Maryse H. Richards. New York: Basic Books. 1994. 256 pp. ISBN 0-465-01662-6. $26.00 cloth. Family researchers, and social scientists generally, are often frustrated by the limitations of the methods available to them. Questionnaires rely on people's notoriously unreliable memories. Laboratory studies always beg the question of how much they resemble real life. A fantasizing family researcher might ask, wouldn't it be nice to be there during family interactions, as they occur naturally, and ask people about their moods and perceptions of those interactions as they occur? Remarkably enough, this idea turns out to be more achievable than it might seem, and the results of its fruition have been presented in a new book on adolescents and their families by Reed Larson and Maryse Richards. The authors used a unique methodological approach known as the experience sampling method, or ESM, in which participants carried "beepers" around and were beeped at eight random times during the day between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. for 7 days. When beeped, family members would report in a booklet what they were doing, thinking, and feeling just before the beep, on rating scales as well as in their own words. The study included 55 two-parent, middle-class families living in suburban Chicago, all with an adolescent in fifth through eighth grade. All members of a particular family were beeped at the same time, so that more than one perspective was obtained when they were beeped while together. The result is what authors call "an emotional photo album of their family life, a set of snapshots of what one young adolescent and her parents go through in an average week" (p. 9). These snapshots are fascinating and revealing. Most striking is the disparity in moods and perceptions that family members often experience when together, and how oblivious they can be to one another's emotional realities. For example: Mom is shopping for clothes at the mall with her adolescent daughter, and reports thoroughly enjoying herself and thinking that her daughter is, too; at the same time, the daughter reports being bored and thinking about a prospective boyfriend. Family members often do not even agree about whether they are together; the wife cooking dinner in the kitchen reports being with her husband, who is watching TV; he reports watching TV, alone. Husbands and wives disagreed one-third of the time about whether or not they were together; mothers and children disagreed one-half of the time about this. …
Social learning and exchange concepts and principles were utilized to generate a set of hypotheses concerning the determinants of parenting practices. The explanatory constructs involved parents' values, beliefs about parenting, perceptions of the child, level of depression, marital satisfaction, education, and degree of financial distress. The predictions were tested with a sample of 61 families, each of which included a 7th grader. Self-report measures were employed to measure the explanatory variables, while coders' ratings of videotaped family interaction served as measures of parenting behavior. The results largely support the hypotheses. In general, the findings indicate that the determinants of parenting differ somewhat by sex and that different factors predict constructive versus destructive parenting practices.
Using data from a longitudinal study of a representative sample of 471 parents and their adult offspring, we examined whether nontraditional gender roles and attitudes among parents are associated with later life outcomes of children. We found very little evidence that mother's participation in the labor force, father's participation in household tasks, and parents' gender role attitudes had adverse or positive effects on offspring well-being. However, offspring of nontraditional parents were less likely to reside with parents and had slightly poorer relationships with their fathers; the latter finding is accounted for by the greater likelihood of nontraditional parents to divorce. In addition, daughters of nontraditional parents were more likely to cohabit. Finally, offspring of nontraditional parents tended to have nontraditional gender role attitudes. In all cases the relationships were modest.
We review the research on gender by focusing on three domains of family life—marriage, work (both wage and family work), and parenthood. Regarding marriage, we consider intimacy, communication and conflict, and wife-battering. Regarding wage work, we consider women and men as providers and resistance to wives as coproviders. Regarding family work, we consider the nature of family work and resistance to sharing housework and child care. Regarding parenthood, we consider the images of motherhood and fatherhood, activities and experiences of mothering and fathering, and the gender differentiation that accompanies parenting. We offer recommendations for further research and encourage family scholars to conceptualize gender as relational or interactional rather than as an individual property or role.
In order to examine the influence of the father's personality, the infant's temperament, the marital relationship, and the work-family interface on observed father-infant interaction and reports of paternal responsibility during the infancy period, 54 dual-earner and 65 single-earner families were studied. A major goal was to explore whether specific determinants were more successful in predicting fathering in dual-earner as opposed to single-earner families (i.e., contextual specificity) and whether the prediction of fathering differed as a function of developmental period (i.e., developmental specificity). Results indicated that personality characteristics of the father were important in predicting the father's responsibility for child care in single-earner families but not in dual-earner families. The contextual factors of marriage and work were influential in predicting fathering in both dual- and single-earner households. There was no indication that the determinants differentially predicted fathering across the 3-month and 9-month measurement occasions. Results are discussed with regard to the importance of demonstrating empirically that the prediction of fathering may differ as a function of family context or developmental period.
Although the mother-daughter relationship has received increasing attention, both in concept and in empirical research, there has never been a published summary of the theories and research relevant to this exclusively feminine relationship. This article describes the "state of the art" relative to the mother-daughter dyad, with special emphasis on those works that focus on theory development and/or utilize mother-daughter samples. The article concludes with a brief discussion on the extent to which research supports contemporary mother-daughter theories.
The purpose of this article is to advance a new understanding of gender as a routine accomplishment embedded in everyday interaction. To do so entails a critical assessment of existing perspectives on sex and gender and the introduction of important distinctions among sex, sex category, and gender. We argue that recognition of the analytical independence of these concepts is essential for understanding the interactional work involved in being a gendered person in society. The thrust of our remarks is toward theoretical reconceptualization, but we consider fruitful directions for empirical research that are indicated by our formulation.
Two theoretical perspectives have been advanced to account for heightened egocentrism during early adolescence. One perspective assumes that formal operational thought is associated with increased self-consciousness. The second perspective proposes that parental support and affection diminish egocentrism, while parental rejection enhances self-conscious reactions by young adolescents. Data analysis using responses from 251 early adolescents (131 males, 120 females) on measures of cognitive development and perceived parental support revealed that (a) formal operations diminished adolescent egocentrism, while (b) perceived parental relations were predictive of self-consciousness. Contrary to posttheoretical assumptions, seventh graders functioning at the level of concrete operations were higher in self-conscious egocentrism than were formal-operations youths. Further, perceived parental support was associated with diminished egocentrism, while perceived parental rejection was predictive of heightened self-consciousness.
In order to assess the relationship between family members' cognitive and affective responses to nuclear war issues, 317 college students and their parents (n=559) independently completed a multifaceted questionnaire that included items concerning personal reactions, predictions, opinions, and attitudes about nuclear war. Results revealed a negligible relationship between the responses of college students and their parents, although the level of concordance between mothers and fathers was somewhat greater. Moreover, parents and students were relatively poor at predicting each others' nuclear threat attitudes, and the strength with which an attitude was endorsed did not enhance its predictability. Results are discussed with regard to heterogeneity in attitudinal and affective reactions within families, and with regard to the idea that infrequent communication concerning nuclear war issues may be occurring.
This study examined the involvement and satisfaction of adolescents with their fathers and mothers. Possible age and sex differences were investigated for three components of involvement: proportion of time spent with fathers and mothers, type of activities engaged in, and degree of satisfaction with those activities. Telephone interviews were used to obtain information about previous day's activities from 61 adolescents in grades 6-12. For each activity, data were obtained on duration, who else was present, and satisfaction. Results indicated that adolescents spent a greater proportion of time in leisure than in work with fathers, and equal time in work and in leisure with mothers. In general, adolescents were as satisfied with activities with their fathers as with their mothers. Adolescents enjoyed working with fathers more than mothers, however. The results demonstrate that activity satisfaction varies as a function of what activities adolescents engage in and who is present.
In Study 1, 605 adolescents estimated how well their parents knew them and said how much they cared what their parents thought about them. Sons and daughters judged that mothers knew them fairly well, but daughters judged that fathers did not know them so well. At the same time, statements of caring indicated high concern by sons and daughters for both parents. A supplemental result was that sons from white-collar families gave relatively low estimates of how much their mothers knew them and daughters from blue-collar families gave very low estimates of how much their fathers knew them. In Study 2, 52 adolescents from single-parent families and living with their mothers but not with their fathers also gave estimates for knowing and caring. Knowing followed the above pattern, with an expected lowering of estimates for fathers by sons and daughters. Further, estimates of caring declined especially for fathers by daughters. These results add to the growing literature that shows mother-adolescent and father-adolescent relationships contribute differentially to psychological development. The results seem especially relevant for adolescents' sex role development and constructed individuality as mediated through relationships with both parents.
This study focuses on the role of family experience in adolescents' conception of the self in the context of friendship and dating relationships. Three issues are addressed: the extent of sex differences in adolescents' friendship and dating identity, how links between family experience and friendship and dating identity might differ for males and females, and whether mothers and fathers play distinctive roles in such development. A sample of Caucasian two-parent families, each including an adolescent who was a high school senior, was observed in a family interaction task designed to elicit the expression and coordination of a variety of points of view. Each adolescent was also given an interview assessing exploration and commitment in friendship and dating identity. Only one sex difference was found in identity, with females more committed in their conceptions of dating relationships than males. The key finding of the study concerns the distinctive patterns of family interaction associated with friendship and dating identity. For females, separateness in family interaction was related to their friendship identity exploration, whereas for males, the links between family interaction and exploration all involved connectedness. The different contingencies may reflect the interplay between different societal patterns of support and restriction of males' and females' exploration.
Parental reports of disagreements and serious disagreements about rules were examined in 200 families with seventh-grade boys and girls. No gender differences were found: Mothers did not report more disagreements than fathers; no more disagreements were reported for girls than boys. Disagreements about personal habits and family obligations were more common than disagreements about peer relations. Disagreements and serious disagreements, in general, were significantly correlated (positively) with parental reports of child oppositionalism and (negatively) with parents' satisfaction with parenting the target child, although some dyadic differences were found. Children's reports of parental acceptance were negatively correlated with disagreements only for the father-daughter dyad. Support was found for some of Baumrind's ([1968] "Authoritarian vs. Authoritative Control,"Adolescence 3: 255-272) notions regarding relations between rule frequency, child participation in rule making, and disagreements about rules, especially for the father-daughter dyad.
Sex differences in verbal family interactions were investigated in a group of 79 adolescents and parents from normal and psychiatric settings. The analyses were designed to study these differences in both generations, parent and adolescent. Parent and adolescent interactions with one another were observed in a semistructured, revealed-differences family discussion. All of the individual speeches were then scored with our Constraining and Enabling Coding System (CECS). Initial predictions involved both adolescent and parent differences. These hypotheses were only partially confirmed. The strongest findings pertained to parent sex differences, as we found strikingly higher levels of cognitive enabling speeches expressed by fathers and significantly more speeches addressed to fathers. We discuss several alternative interpretations of these findings. Perspectives included in our considerations are direction of effect and influences of task/context upon the expression of family sex differences.
This study examines the effects of the age and sex of adolescent and the sex of parent upon adolescents' perceptions of the nature of their communication with each parent. Two hundred and ninety-six adolescents aged 13-17 years completed a communication schedule, rating 14 content areas along six process dimensions: frequency of conversation, initiator, levels of recognition of adolescents' opinion, self-disclosure, domination, and levels of satisfaction. Multivariate analyses of variance were conducted separately for each process dimension. Frequency ratings revealed that adolescent females of all ages reported talking more often with mothers than did adolescent males. Adolescent males, however, believed they talked more often than did females with fathers about interests, sexual issues, and general problems. Mothers were seen to initiate more conversations than fathers on a wide range of topics. Mothers were also perceived as more likely to recognize and accept the adolescents' opinions. Adolescent females believed they disclosed more to mothers than fathers, but males believed they disclosed equally to both parents. Males disclosed more to fathers than did females about their sexual or other problems, while females disclosed more often overall to their mothers than did males. Adolescent males were equally satisfied with their discussions with both parents, but females were more satisfied about conversations with mothers rather than fathers. In sum, the results suggest that mothers' more frequent initiation of discussions with their younger adolescents and their greater recognition of their opinions lead to older adolescents interacting more with mothers than fathers.
Bases for a developmental approach to the nature and functions of mother-child and father-child relationships are considered in connection with research findings from studies of middle-childhood and adolescent subjects and their parents. The framework for the review was derived from two sources: (1) recent conceptualizations of close relationships and (2) implications in general theories of socialization regarding different contributions of mothers and fathers to development during middle childhood and adolescence. Relationships between offspring and their mothers were found to contrast with father-offspring relationships in both middle childhood and adolescence, and differences appear to become more pronounced in some areas as a function of maturational changes associated with the transition to adolescence. The analysis points to the inadvisability of considering relationships with parents to be monolithic and a-developmental. In addition, it makes clear the need for a developmental theory of relationships to serve as a guide to further research on the linkages between ontogenetic change in individuals and the relationships of which they are a part.
Exchanges of intergenerational support were assessed in a bicultural (Anglo/European-American and Latin American) sample of young-adult women, their mothers, and their maternal grandmothers. The goals of the study were (a) to describe the extent of supportive intergenerational exchange, with a particular focus on the balance of exchange across generations, (b) to evaluate the association of support with intergenerational relationship quality, and (c) to explore links between supportive exchange, relationship quality, and personal well-being. Support exchanges were imbalanced across generations, with middlegeneration women providing more support to mothers and daughters than they received. Support and relationship quality were linked for younger mother-daughter dyads, but perceptions of older women regarding relations with daughters were positively biased and not tied significantly to support exchange. Intergenerational relationship quality was associated with well-being for each generation. The cross-cultural consistency of these results suggests that they represent more general patterns of intergenerational relations.
When interpreting an interaction in the analysis of variance (ANOVA), many active researchers (and, in turn, students) often ignore the residuals defining the interaction Although this problem has been noted previously, it appears that many users of ANOVA remain uncertain about the proper understanding of interaction effects To clear up this problem, we review the way in which the ANOVA model enables us to take apart a table of group means or the individual measurements contributing to the means to reveal the underlying components We also show how (using only published data) to compute a contrast on the question that may be of primary interest and illustrate strategies for interpreting tables of residuals We conclude with an exercise to check on students' understanding of ANOVA and to encourage increased precision in the specification of research results
The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of maternal employment status and maternal satisfaction with employment status on closeness between parents and their seventh-grade children. Effects on family activities and family rules were studied with consideration given to their possible mediating influences on closeness. Results revealed that sons reported greater closeness with fathers when mothers were employed and daughters reported greater closeness with parents when mothers were not employed or were employed part time. Mothers reported greater closeness to sons when they were employed, but reported greater closeness to daughters when they were not employed or were employed part time. Fathers reported no differences in closeness to either sons or daughters regardless of maternal employment status. Maternal employment status had no effects on activities or rules. Maternal satisfaction with employment status had little effect on closeness and had no effect on activities or rules.
Presents a 3-component model of parenting that places emotion at the heart of parental competence. The model emphasizes (a) child, parent, and contextual factors that activate parents' emotions; (b) orienting, organizing, and motivating effects that emotions have on parenting once aroused; and (c) processes parents use to understand and control emotions. Emotions are vital to effective parenting. When invested in the interests of children, emotions organize sensitive, responsive parenting. Emotions undermine parenting, however, when they are too weak, too strong, or poorly matched to childrearing tasks. In harmonious relationships, emotions are, on average, positive because parents manage interactions so that children's and parents' concerns are promoted. In distressed relationships, chronic negative emotion is both a cause and a consequence of interactions that undermine parents' concerns and children's development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Feminist scholars continue to stress that families are neither separate from wider systems of male domination nor automatically solidary and altruistic in their own right. However, feminist explanations of how families operate and contribute to maintaining women's subordination have shifted in the past decade from those that emphasize sex roles and socialization to those that describe processes of categorization and stratification by gender. This latter approach, called gender theory, is the central concern of this review. In the first portion of the essay, the premises of sex role theory and of gender theory are described and contrasted, and the uses of gender theory for understanding a variety of family roles are outlined. In the second section, the focus shifts to the ways that families operate to construct gender through the symbolic and structural dimensions of labor, both paid and unpaid, and through the control over income within the family. Gender models move theorizing about families away from the emphasis on dichotomies such as public or private, love or money, traditional or modern, and toward recognition of the diverse and contested nature of gender conventions both today and in the past. Rather than positing two opposite, comprehensive, consistent, and exclusive "sex roles," the new feminist theory identifies a variety of actively gendered roles that link families with other social institutions, offer rewards and costs to both women and men, and are both controversial and internally contradictory.
Two contemporary theoretical explanations of adolescent self-esteem, symbolic interaction and social learning, were investigated and compared. Special attention focused on the relative effect of selected variables, representing each explanation, on four dimensions of self-esteem. A stratified random sample of 184 families with adolescents provided self-report data. Multiple regression and bivariate analysis resulted in evidence for the general conclusions that: (1) adolescent self-esteem was more a function of the reflected appraisal of the parents than it was of adolescents modeling their parents' self-esteem; and (2) female adolescents were more likely to be influenced by their parents than were male adolescents. In addition, the study suggests that when researchers investigate adolescent self-esteem, it is essential that they take into account its various dimensions, as well as the sex of the parent and the-adolescent.
This study examined the association between attachment and identity among late adolescents. Participants completed measures of attachment to their mothers and fathers as well as measures of identity status, family background, and life satisfaction. The study tested hypotheses from attachment theory and identity theory, both of which emphasize the influence of parent-child relationships and environmental exploration on the development of individuals. The findings indicate that identity achievement is related to attachment to mother, but is unrelated to attachment to father. Attachments to both mother and father, however, are associated with lower moratorium and lower diffusion. Overall, life satisfaction is related to father bonds as well as identity achievement and lower moratorium. The findings also suggest that the secure base provided by attachments to mothers and fathers acts as a protective factor against a floundering inability to make commitments. In addition, mother bonds appear to support the resolution of identity crises and the formation of authentic commitments. The findings demonstrate the links between attachment and identity processes and support a model of parent-adolescent relationships that integrates attachment and identity theories.
According to reciprocal role theory, the father's socialization behavior promotes sex-typing in children. While sex-typing is encouraged by both parents, the father makes a greater differentiation between sons and daughters. In this article, the research on differential socialization behavior is reviewed. Some studies have used multiple measures of parent-child interaction and often only a few of these have revealed differences related to the sex of the parent. However, as indicated both in a qualitative review of the literature and in a meta-analysis, results that are significant provide a modest degree of support for father-specific socialization behaviors. In 20 of 39 independent published studies, the father's ratings or treatment of boys and girls differed significantly. By contrast, the differences for mothers, if present at all, were comparatively few in any of the studies. The pattern of father-specific effects was most evident in the area of discipline and physical involvement and was weak in the areas of affection and everyday speech with infants and toddlers. Research on children's perceptions of parental socialization behavior is consistent with the existence of differential socialization practices used by the father in particular. Reciprocal role theory is discussed in terms of influences on parent-child interaction with regard to traditional and nontraditional family arrangements. Further research using within-family designs is required to examine fathers' differential treatment in the context of changing family and work roles.
This paper is concerned with the extent to which "traditionality" of parents' attitudes towards the other sex are related to sex-bias in expectations regarding children and to involvement in sex-typical household tasks. We also examine each of these in relation to how parents see themselves along dimensions of "masculinity" (instrumental traits) and "femininity" (expressive traits). To obtain a wide spectrum of cultural values, comparable data were collected on parents of preschool-aged children (n = 161) in Cambridge (England) and Budapest (Hungary). Parents' personalities, attitudes, and behaviour were assessed by self-report questionnaires. Parents with more traditional views on male-female adult relations had more sex-biased expectations of their children. Furthermore, with the exception of Budapest mothers, parents who had more traditional attitudes and expectations were more gender-stereotyped in their behaviour. Mothers' sex-role behaviour in Budapest was related to their husbands' attitudes. Comparing parents according to sex and location the following results emerge: fathers were more sex-biased in parenting expectations and more traditional in their attitudes to adult relations than mothers. Sex-typical household and child-care duties were more likely to be performed by the parent of the traditionally "appropriate" sex. Budapest parents were more sex-biased in their attitudes than Cambridge parents, but less gender-typed in their role-sharing behaviour. This difference in role-sharing was related to maternal employment.
These results further support the contention that the various gender-related phenomena-traits, attitudes, values, interests, preferences, and behaviour- are multifactorial. As a considerable variation has been found in parents' gender-related personality, behaviour, and attitudes, it remains to be seen whether this variation is reflected in any way in the behaviour of their preschool daughters and sons.
Examines way women and men organize their gender relations in families around domains of marriage, work, and parenthood through research literature review. Concludes gender specialization persists across all three domains with women most responsible for marriage, housework and parenthood, and men, for provision. Recommends greater examination of male/female actions, beliefs, and experiences within larger context of inequality. (Author/CM)