Relationships Between Parenting Styles and the Academic Performance of Adolescents

Relationships between parenting styles, academic performance, and the mediating effects of motivation, goal orientation, and self-efficacy were examined. One hundred forty-eight high school students participated, including 58 males and 90 females. The Parenting Style/Parental Involvement Questionnaire was used to measure students' perceptions of their parents' parenting styles. The Intrinsic-Extrinsic Orientation Scale measured students' motivation. The Patterns of Adapted Learning Survey measured participants' goal orientation and academic self-efficacy. Adolescents who reported their parents as having a more authoritative parenting style were found to demonstrate more intrinsic motivation in their academic pursuits. Future implications for intervention and research are discussed.     

Retrospective Paternal and Maternal Parenting Styles,Regulatory Self-Efficacy and Adolescent Risk Taking

This study aims to calculate a scaled risk-taking behavior index and to test a model in which maternal and paternal parenting styles affect risk-taking behavior with a mediation of adolescents’ regulatory self-efficacy. Participants were 816 adolescents (44% males) responding to a self-report questionnaire about their risk-taking behavior, regulatory self-efficacy, and retrospective memories of paternal and maternal parenting styles. Results suggested an item rating in the index showing that behaviors considered less risky referred to alcohol use and the unplanned first sexual intercourse, whereas behaviors considered more risky referred to the lack of use of contraceptives and the age of the first sexual intercourse. Results revealed a significant indirect effect of authoritative and authoritarian styles on risk-taking behavior. These styles shaped the adolescents’ regulatory self-efficacy, which in turn predicted adolescent risk-taking behavior. Results underline the complex interplay of relationships between parents and their children.     

Maternal and Paternal Parenting Style Patterns and Adolescent Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to extend current research to examine the relationship between parenting style combinations and adolescent emotional/behavioral outcomes to further understand affective functioning in adolescents. Previous research solely analyzed mothers, without including fathers and/or both parents. The roles of temperament and adolescent and parent gender were also examined. Participants were 12- to 18-year-old students (n = 195) in 7th to 11th grade in a rural school district in southeast Michigan. Temperament characteristics (i.e., mood, flexibility-rigidity, and eating rhythmicity) explained nearly half of the variance in adolescent outcomes. Parenting styles contributed a smaller but significant role. When both parents were authoritative, it was associated with more optimal outcomes in adolescents' personal adjustment than any other parenting style combination. Having one authoritative parent, which was expected to be a protective factor, was related to high personal adjustment for girls but higher levels of school maladjustment for boys. Mixed associations were found for parenting style combinations and adolescent outcomes. Overall, when both parents were permissive and neglectful, these parenting styles were associated with poorer adolescent outcomes. Study findings confirm that parenting style patterns are important; however, adolescent temperament plays a much larger role, overall, in adolescent affective functioning.     

Parenthood and Well-Being: A Decade in Review

Understanding social aspects of parental well-being is vital because parents' welfare has implications not only for the parents themselves but also for child development, fertility, and the overall health of a society. This article provides a critical review of scholarship on parenthood and well-being in advanced economies published from 2010 to 2019. It focuses on the role of social, economic, cultural, and institutional contexts of parenting in influencing adult well-being. The authors identify major themes, achievements, and challenges and organize the review around the demands-rewards perspective and two other theoretical frameworks: the stress process model and the life course perspective. The analysis shows that rising economic insecurities and inequalities and a diffusion of intensive parenting ideology were major social contexts of parenting in the 2010s. Scholarship linking parenting contexts and parental well-being illuminated how stressors related to providing and caring for children could unjustly burden some parents, especially mothers, those with fewer socioeconomic resources, and those with marginalized statuses. In that vein, researchers continued to emphasize how stressors diverged by parents' socioeconomic status, gender, and partnership status, with new attention to strains experienced by racial/ethnic minority, immigrant, and sexual minority parents. Scholars' comparisons of parents' positions in various countries expanded, enhancing knowledge regarding specific policy supports that allow parents to thrive. Articulating future research within a stress process model framework, the authors show vibrant theoretical pathways, including conceptualizing potential parental social supports at multiple levels, attending to the intersection of multiple social locations of parents, and renewing attention to local contextual factors and parenting life stages.     

Family Structure Effects on Maternal and Paternal Parenting in Low‐Income Families

Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Survey, a birth cohort study, this study analyzes the effect of family structure on parenting for 3,402 mothers and 2,615 fathers. To address the problem of omitted variable bias, fixed effects methods are used to control for the presence of time‐invariant unobserved characteristics that may counfound estimates. Marriage by itself did not influence the parenting of mothers or fathers, and there was little effect of family structure on maternal parenting. The presence of a romantic partner was important, as fathers who repartner had lower engagement scores and mothers reported cohabiting stepfathers to be more involved in the family’s life as compared to married biological fathers.     

Parenting and Perceived Maternal Warmth in European American and African American Adolescents

Traditional conceptualizations of parenting style assume certain associations between parenting practices/philosophies and parental warmth. This study examines whether those links are similar for European American and African American adolescents. Two hundred and ninety‐eight early adolescents and their mothers reported on discipline and control practices, decision‐making practices, and parenting philosophy, which were used to predict adolescents’ reports of maternal warmth. The moderating role of ethnicity was examined after controlling for gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Although some practices predicted warmth similarly across groups, several practices predicted warmth in ways consistent with parenting style theory only or more strongly among European American adolescents. The findings suggest differences in the interpretation of or context surrounding discipline‐ and autonomy‐related practices in these groups.     

Maternal Experiences of Parenting Girls who are Perceived as Overweight or at Risk for Becoming So: Narratives of Uncertainty,Ambivalence and Struggle

This work explored U.S. mothers’ experiences of parenting young adolescent girls who are perceived by their mothers as overweight or at risk for becoming so. Data were collected via in‐depth interviews with 13 mothers and were analysed using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Many mothers experienced socializing their daughters about issues of the body, weight, diet, and health as marked by uncertainty, ambivalence and struggle, particularly relative to four subthemes: mothers’ embodiment as challenge to ‘good mothering’, negotiating a dilemma of the ‘healthy mind’ versus the ‘healthy body’, managing discipline: how much to intervene?, and the challenge of interpersonal dynamics.     

Paternal Hostility and Maternal Hostility in European American and African American Families

The authors examined the hypothesized influence of maternal and paternal hostility on youth delinquency over time. The investigation addressed significant gaps in earlier research on parental hostility, including the neglect of father effects, especially in African American families. Using prospective, longitudinal data from community samples of European American (n = 422) and African American (n = 272) 2‐parent families, the authors examined the independent effects of paternal and maternal hostility on youth delinquency. The results indicated that paternal hostility significantly predicted relative increases in youth delinquent behaviors above and beyond the effects of maternal hostility; conversely, maternal hostility did not predict youth delinquency after controlling for paternal hostility. Multiple‐group analyses yielded similar results for both ethnic groups and for boys and girls. These results underscore the importance of including both parents in research on diverse families. Neglecting fathers provides an incomplete account of parenting in relation to youth development.     

Parenting as a Dynamic Process: A Test of the Resource Dilution Hypothesis

In this paper, we tested the resource dilution hypothesis, which posits that, because parenting resources are finite, the addition of a new sibling depletes parenting resources for other children in the household. We estimated growth curve models on the self‐reported parenting practices of mothers using four waves of data collected biennially between 1994 and 2000 on a nationally representative sample of 2,082 Canadian children aged 2 to 5 at initial interview and in continuously intact, two‐biological‐parent households. Results showed that when new children were added to the household, mothers exhibited declines in positive interaction, but increased their levels of consistent parenting. Taken together, these findings suggested that parenting resources were reallocated, rather than diluted, when family size increased.     

Early Adolescents' Perceptions of Mothers' and Fathers' Parenting Styles and Problem Behavior

We investigated early adolescents' perceptions of parenting styles in mother–father–adolescent triads along with child self-reported problem behaviors (substance abuse and delinquency). We also examined the various combinations of mothers' and fathers' parenting styles by child gender in relation to problem behavior. Participants included 3,353 children (aged 12 to 14) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth—97. Results from our structural equation model indicated that mothers and fathers may use different parenting strategies and that permissive parenting may not be as detrimental as previously assumed. In addition, youth perceptions of each parent were equally important in explaining problem behavior among both daughters and sons, but the perception of an authoritarian mother showed stronger adverse effects on sons, even after controlling for poverty and peer influence.     

Parenting Style,Child Emotion Regulation and Behavioral Problems: The Moderating Role of Cultural Values in Australia and Indonesia

Abstract

Research has shown that the congruence of parenting styles with cultural values, rather than parenting styles alone, impacts child adjustment. This study examined if parents’ cultural values moderate the relationships between parenting styles and child outcomes across both an individualist culture (Australia) and a collectivist culture (Indonesia). Three hundred and eighty-seven parents of 2–10-year-old children from both countries reported their parenting styles, the importance of the collectivistic values (security, conformity, and tradition), and their child's emotion regulation and behavioral problems. In both countries, authoritative parenting was associated with higher child emotion regulation and lower levels of behavioral problems, and authoritarian parenting was associated with lower child emotion regulation and higher levels of behavioral problems. Although cultural values did not moderate the relationship between authoritarian parenting and child adjustment, in both countries greater importance placed on tradition attenuated the positive effect of authoritative parenting on child outcomes.     

Associations of Parenting Dimensions and Styles with Internalizing Symptoms in Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis

The present meta-analysis integrates research from 1,015 studies on associations of parenting dimensions and styles with internalizing symptoms in children and adolescents. Parental warmth, behavioral control, autonomy granting, and authoritative parenting showed very small to small negative concurrent and longitudinal associations with internalizing symptoms. In contrast, harsh control, psychological control, authoritarian, and, in part, neglectful parenting were associated with higher levels of internalizing symptoms. Parental warmth, behavioral control, harsh control, psychological control, autonomy granting, and authoritative parenting predicted change in internalizing symptoms over time, with associations of internalizing symptoms with parental warmth, psychological control, and authoritative parenting being bidirectional. Moderating effects of study characteristics are identified. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Maternal Employment and Parenting Through Middle Childhood: Contextualizing Factors

The authors used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) to examine maternal work hour status and parenting (sensitivity and learning opportunities) from infancy through middle childhood. Work hour status was conceptualized as nonemployment, part time, and full time. Adjusting for covariates, mothers employed part time had higher sensitivity scores and higher provision of child learning opportunity scores than did mothers who were not employed, and these differences characterized families during early childhood rather than middle childhood. Mothers' provision of child learning opportunities was greater when she was employed full time (vs. part time) during early childhood. In addition to child age, mothers' ethnic minority status and partner status moderated the association between maternal work hour status and mothers' parenting. In general, the findings supported ideas forwarded by role expansionist theory.     

Authoritarian Versus Authoritative Parenting Styles: Application of the Cost Equalization Principle

ABSTRACT

Given the lack of appropriate theoretical analysis in past research on parenting, this article aims to offer solid theoretical explanation for the effectiveness of authoritative parenting over authoritarian parenting by introducing the behavioral-structural model based on the principle of cost equalization. The results of computer simulation using the new theoretical model demonstrate that authoritarian parenting leads to development of a competitive/hostile structure where the child's spontaneous initiation is discouraged and the overall support within the dyad decreases, whereas authoritative parenting leads to development of a cooperative/friendly structure where the child's spontaneous initiation is encouraged and the overall support within the dyad increases. Implications of child socialization in competitive versus cooperative structures as predicted by the new theoretical model are also discussed.     

The Role of Value Priorities in Paternal and Maternal Involvement in Child Care

This study used the theory of human values to explore parents' involvement with their children. The relationships between maternal and paternal value priorities and various forms of involvement in child care were examined in a sample of 209 couples with 1 child between 6 and 36 months of age. As predicted, giving high priority to openness‐to‐change values (e.g., self‐direction, stimulation) and low priority to conservation values (e.g., tradition, conformity, security) is associated with more father involvement and less mother involvement. Moreover, and as predicted, the priority given by a spouse to achievement values is negatively related to this spouse's involvement in child care and positively related to the other spouse's involvement. Parents' sociodemographic characteristics partly mediate the associations between value priorities and involvement. The findings also indicate the importance of distinguishing different forms of involvement in child care.     

Single Custodial Fathers' Involvement and Parenting: Implications for Outcomes in Emerging Adulthood

Using a sample of 3,977 youths from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), this study examines the unique characteristics of single‐custodial‐father families with adolescents and the effects of single fathers' involvement and parenting on outcomes in emerging adulthood. Findings suggest that single‐custodial‐father families are distinct from single‐mother and 2‐biological‐parent families in terms of sociodemographic characteristics, parenting styles, and involvement. Parenting styles and involvement mediate the differences between single‐father families and 2‐parent families in terms of high school completion and disconnectedness and partially mediate differences for single‐custodial‐father families with a partner. Family and sociodemographic characteristics are also associated with being disconnected for adolescents residing with a cohabiting custodial father.     

‘A Chance to Stand Back’: Parenting Programmes for Parents of Adolescents

Parenting interventions were an important feature of New Labour’s policies to combat social exclusion. This paper critically examines parenting programmes for families with adolescents, assessing national and local policy aims against the perspectives of women who took part in a parenting course, which was the subject of a local evaluation. The paper argues that, while there were important positive outcomes for the participants, the high levels of unmet need which women reported reflect important disparities between the aims of the intervention, the level of service provision, and the needs and concerns of mothers and grandmothers.     

Modeling Adoption Attitudes: Recalled Maternal Warmth,Affection for Children,and Parenting Motivation

We tested a model for predicting adoption attitudes: that remembered parental warmth is associated with more positive attitudes toward adoption and that this relationship is mediated by motivation to parent and liking of children. One hundred and eighty-seven university students participated in the study. Controlling for participant gender and adoption experience, the model was supported for maternal warmth, but not for paternal warmth. Specifically, the relationship between recalled maternal warmth and more positive attitudes toward adoption was mediated positively by liking of children and negatively by motivation to parent. The results implicate both childhood experiences and contemporary motives and preferences in adoption attitudes.