5260.0: Wednesday, November 15, 2000 - Board 3

Abstract #14986

Intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes: A social cognitive perspective

Vicki H. Wyatt, PhD, Health Promotion Sciences Department, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 801 N. E. 13th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, 405-271-2017, Vicki-Wyatt@ouhsc.edu and Scott W. Plunkett, PhD, Family Environmental Sciences Department, California State University, Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330-8308, 818.677.7480, scott.plunkett@csun.edu.

Recent demographic trends, such as increased number of families in which both parents are employed, increased number of children who care for younger siblings, and the high incidence of teen pregnancy have resulted in an increasing number of adolescents with parental responsibilities for their own children or younger siblings. It seems that parenting beliefs of adolescents is of utmost concern to health professionals and family life educators. Social cognitive theory posits children learn their behaviors by modeling their parents’ behaviors (Bandura, 1986). If parents’ observable parenting behaviors are indicators of their own underlying parenting attitudes, then the parents' observable parenting behaviors may be the process through which adolescents’ learn to model their parents’ parenting attitudes. Therefore, adolescents’ perceptions of their parents’ parenting behaviors serve as mediators between the parental and adolescent parenting attitudes. A subsample of 90 mothers, fathers, and adolescents from two-parent biological or adoptive families was used to investigate whether mothers’ and fathers’ self-reported parenting attitudes (i.e., corporal punishment, obedience, empathy) were related to their observable parenting behaviors (support, punitiveness), which then related to the adolescents’ self-reported parenting attitudes (i.e., corporal punishment, obedience, empathy). Parenting attitudes were assessed using three factor analytically derived subscales from the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory-2 (Bavolek & Keene, 1999). Parenting behaviors were assessed using two subscales of the Parenting Behavior Measure (Peterson, 1982). The results found partial support for the hypotheses that mothers’ and fathers’ parenting attitudes were related to their observable parenting behaviors which were in turn related to the adolescents’ parenting attitudes.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to: Understand the impact of the intergenerational transmission of parenting attitudes on healthy adolescent development. Discuss the relationship of parents’ parenting attitudes and adolescents’ parenting attitudes as mediated by the parents’ observable parenting behaviors. Recognize the importance of selected parenting attitudes in relation to observable parenting behaviors

Keywords: Youth, Family Involvement

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA