Over-Time Changes in Adjustment and Competence among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families

In a previous report, we demonstrated that adolescents' adjustment varies as a function of their parents' style (e.g., authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, neglectful). This 1-year follow-up was conducted in order to examine whether the observed differences are maintained over time. In 1987, an ethnically and socioeconomically heterogeneous sample of approximately 2,300 14–18-year-olds provided information used to classify the adolescents' families into 1 of 4 parenting style groups. That year, and again 1 year later, the students completed a battery of standardized instruments tapping psychosocial development, school achievement, internalized distress, and behavior problems. Differences in adjustment associated with variations in parenting are either maintained or increase over time. However, whereas the benefits of authoritative parenting are largely in the maintenance of previous levels of high adjustment, the deleterious consequences of neglectful parenting continue to accumulate.     

Low expectations equal no expectations: Aspirations,motivation, and achievement in secondary school

Underachievement and failure to complete school have long-term negative consequences for students. Aspirations regarding completion of secondary school that predict achievement outcomes are related to factors amenable to intervention. This study investigates relationships between academic achievement and self-reported educational aspirations, motivation, affiliation with peers and teachers, and attributions. Survey participants were 5369 Year 10 and Year 11 students at 19 nationally representative secondary schools in New Zealand, and available achievement records were sourced for 2439 Year 11 students. Survey data were factor analyzed followed by further examination of relationships across demographic factors, self-reported aspirations, motivational factors (Doing My Best and Doing Just Enough), attributions, and interpersonal affiliations (Teacher and Peer). For Year 11 students, relationships between different factors and subsequent achievement were also analyzed. Students who indicated no aspiration to complete a school qualification were indistinguishable from those with low or moderate aspirations, and the analyses supported only two divergent groups comprising students with either low or high aspirations to complete qualifications. Aspirations were significantly related to different patterns of motivation, affiliation, and attributions predictive of academic achievement. Students of different ethnicity and gender also fell unequally across the two groups. These results suggest that promoting low or even moderate expectations and aspirations for student achievement may actually reinforce lower academic achievement. Instead, teachers and schools should communicate high expectations to prevent school failure and effective interventions to enhance student outcomes.     

Impact of Parenting Practices on Adolescent Achievement: Authoritative Parenting, School Involvement, and Encouragement to Succeed

This article examines the impact of authoritative parenting, parental involvement in schooling, and parental encouragement to succeed on adolescent school achievement in an ethnically and socio-economically heterogeneous sample of approximately 6,400 American 14-18-year-olds. Adolescents reported in 1987 on their parents' general child-rearing practices and on their parents' achievement-specific socialization behaviors. In 1987, and again in 1988, data were collected on several aspects of the adolescents' school performance and school engagement. Authoritative parenting (high acceptance, supervision, and psychological autonomy granting) leads to better adolescent school performance and stronger school engagement. The positive impact of authoritative parenting on adolescent achievement, however, is mediated by the positive effect of authoritativeness on parental involvement in schooling. In addition, nonauthoritativeness attenuates the beneficial impact of parental involvement in schooling on adolescents achievement. Parental involvement is much more likely to promote adolescent school success when it occurs in the context of an authoritative home environment.     

Improving children's behaviour and attendance through the use of parenting programmes: an examination of practice in five case study local authorities

In this article, Professor Susan Hallam, of the Institute of Education, University of London, Lynne Rogers, lecturer in psychology at the Open University, and Jacqueline Shaw, music teacher, researcher and educational psychologist in training, report the key outcomes of their recent research into parenting programmes. The survey suggested that most local authorities in England were at a relatively early stage in their preparations for meeting demand for programmes focused on developing parenting skills in order to improve the attendance and behaviour of children in school. Here the authors present case studies of five local authorities that had well-developed provision based on contrasting approaches. Two of these authorities used existing programmes available through alternative providers or early years provision; the others offered programmes in schools, one based on established and internationally-available material and two that used content developed within the local authority. Longer term needs relating to parenting programmes are considered in relation to these case studies and the implications for schools, that may be actively encouraged to take on responsibility for these programmes, are explored.     

Individual differences in adolescents' beliefs about the legitimacy of parental authority and their own obligation to obey: a longitudinal investigation

Adolescents' beliefs about the legitimacy of parental authority and obligation to obey were examined in 568 Chilean adolescents (11–14 years old at Wave 1), followed once a year for 4 years. Adolescents' beliefs about parental legitimacy and obligation to obey declined with age. The steepest decline occurred during early adolescence, particularly in the personal domain. Adolescents who were uninvolved in problem behavior and perceived their parents to be supportive or high in monitoring at Wave 1 were more likely to endorse parental legitimacy and obligation to obey over time. There was little evidence that parenting or problem behavior moderated the normative decline in adolescents' beliefs about parental authority. Findings concerning individual differences in adolescents' endorsement of parental authority are highlighted in this study.     

Out-of-school care and problem behavior trajectories among low-income adolescents: individual, family, and neighborhood characteristics as added risks

Using a developmental systems approach, this study considered longitudinal links between adolescents' out-of-school care experiences and behavioral trajectories within a random sample of 819 adolescents ages 10 to 14 years at Wave 1 from low-income, urban families. Multiple aspects of context were considered, including the location, supervision, and structure of adolescents' care arrangements, as well as parenting practices and perceived neighborhood environments. Regression models indicated that out-of-home care, whether supervised or unsupervised, showed modest longitudinal relations with heightened rates of delinquency, drug and alcohol use, and school problems. Out-of-home care was linked with particularly deleterious outcomes for adolescents with high earlier rates of behavior problems, low parental monitoring, and low perceived neighborhood collective efficacy.     

Preservice teachers’ perceived control over negative caregiving outcomes: Implications for early‐childhood teacher preparation

Abstract

This study is focused on preservice early‐childhood teachers’ attributions about control and responsibility for negative caregiving outcomes. Prior research has linked low perceived control over failed outcomes with harsh care‐giving behavior. In this sample of 81 preservice teachers in a pre‐kindergarten, Associate‐degree program, bivariate correlations revealed associations between preservice teachers’ perceived control over caregiving outcomes, the parenting styles they experienced during childhood, and the complexity of their reasoning about children's development. When entered into regression analyses, low perceived control over negative caregiving outcomes was predicted by ratings of high parental permissiveness experienced as a child, as well as by categorical, rather than complex, conceptions of development. Implications of findings for university preparation of preservice teachers are discussed. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.     

The role of negative parental attributions in the associations between daily stressors,maltreatment history,and harsh and abusive discipline

Negative parental attributions are related to parent and family stressors and are thought to be important predictors of subsequent disciplinary actions and, potentially, abusive parenting. We examined if negative parental attributions mediate the relation between daily stressors (i.e., low SES, parenting stress, partner-related stress) parents’ own history of child maltreatment, and harsh and abusive parenting. Mothers (n = 53) completed a computerized attribution task and reported on daily stressors, their own history of child maltreatment and their discipline strategies. Mothers’ negative parental attributions mediated the association between parenting stress (but not the other stressors) and harsh and abusive discipline. These finding implicate that interventions to decrease (the risk of) child abuse should not only focus on reducing abuse-related stressors, but also target negative parental attributions.     

Mothers' parenting practices and adolescents' learning from their mistakes in class: The mediating role of adolescent's self-disclosure

This study examined 126 students' (14–16 years of age; 66 females) perceptions of self-disclosure to their mothers with respect to their mistakes in class activities. Specifically, we hypothesized that self-disclosure would predict adolescents' ability to learn from mistakes they made in classroom tasks. In addition, we hypothesized that perceived mothers' love withdrawal would correlate negatively with adolescents' self-disclosure, whereas perceived autonomy support would correlate positively with self-disclosure. Further, we hypothesized that the effect of mothers' parenting practices on adolescents' ability to learn from their mistakes would be mediated by adolescents' self-disclosure of their school experiences. Results, using SEM analyses, showed the importance of mothers' autonomy support for adolescents' self-disclosure and learning from their mistakes in classroom tasks.     

An Attributional Analysis of Maternal Beliefs about the Importance of Child-rearing Practices

2 principles from attribution theory, covariation and hedonic bias, were employed to examine mothers' attributions for their children's outcomes in the academic, social, and personality domains. Mother of 5–17-year-old gifted, regular, and special education children who were from only-child or multiple-child families made attributions for offspring outcomes to childrearing practices, genetics, and the environment. Based on the covariation principle, it was predicted that mothers of only children would attribute greater importance to child-rearing practices as causes of their children's outcomes than would mothers of multiple children. In addition, predictions based on the hedonic bias led us to hypothesize greater endorsement of child-rearing attributions for gifted (perceived high success) than special education (perceived low success) children. Both hypotheses were supported across all 3 domains. The dilemma of perceived parental responsibility and the usefulness of an attributional approach for understanding parents' causal beliefs are discussed.     

Maternal Attribution and Chinese Immigrant Children’s Social Skills: The Mediating Role of Authoritative Parenting Practices

SYNOPSIS

Objective . This study explores the contributions of Chinese immigrant mothers’ parenting cognitions and parenting practices to their children’s social skills. Design . We used a cross-sectional design to examine the mediating role of authoritative parenting in associations between Chinese immigrant mothers’ parenting attributions and their children’s social skills. Chinese immigrant mothers (N = 208, M _age = 37.36 years) reported their attributions regarding successes and failures in their daily caregiving experiences, authoritative parenting practices, and demographic information. Their preschool children’s (M _age = 4.51 years, 46.2% females) social skills in school were rated by their teachers. Results . Maternal attributions of successful events to uncontrollable causes and unsuccessful events to controllable causes were associated with more authoritative parenting. In turn, more authoritative parenting was associated with more competent social skills in children. In contrast, maternal attributions of successful events to controllable causes and unsuccessful events to uncontrollable causes were associated with less authoritative parenting, which in turn was associated with poorer social skills in children. Conclusions . Promoting Chinese immigrant mothers’ attributions that preserve positive efficacy during daily parenting tasks may enhance their engagement in warm, autonomy-promoting and regulatory parenting, which in turn may facilitate their children’s social skills.     

Learning Environments,Family Contexts,Educational Aspirations and Attainment: A Moderation-Mediation Model Extended

In this extension of a previous study (Marjoribanks, 1999), a moderation-mediation model was constructed to examine relationships among learning environments, adolescents' educational aspirations and the educational attainment of young adults from different family contexts. Data were collected as part of a longitudinal survey of Australian youth (4382 females, 3940 males). The findings from the two investigations indicated that when distal family contexts were defined conjointly by family social status and parents' aspirations: (1) distal family contexts, academic performance and learning environments combined to have large associations with adolescents' educational aspirations; (2) distal family contexts, adolescents' learning environments and educational aspirations combined to have large associations with young adults' educational attainment; and (3) there were family-context differences in the linear and curvilinear nature of the relations among measures of individual characteristics, learning environments and educational outcomes, and these also varied between females and males in those family contexts. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Homework in the Home: How Student, Family, and Parenting-Style Differences Relate to the Homework Process

Parents (n = 709) were surveyed about involvement in their child's homework. A factor analysis revealed three dimensions of homework involvement similar to those found in more general studies of parenting style. These dimensions are autonomy support, direct involvement, and elimination of distractions. A fourth dimension, parental interference, differentiated itself from autonomy support for students in higher grades. Two-thirds of parents reported some negative or inappropriate form of involvement. Parenting style for homework was then related to student and family characteristics and student schooling outcomes. Results indicated parents with students in higher grade levels reported giving students more homework autonomy and less involvement of all other types. Parents in poorer families reported less support for autonomy and more interference. Parents reported less elimination of distractions when an adult was not at home after school and, for elementary school students, when there were more than one child living in the home. Elementary school parents of males reported more direct involvement in homework, while high school parents of females reported more direct involvement. More parental support for autonomy was associated with higher standardized test scores, higher class grades, and more homework completed. More positive parent involvement was associated with lower test scores and lower class grades, especially for elementary school students. Student attitudes toward homework were unrelated to parenting style for homework. Stage–environment fit theory and conceptions of families as varying in resources to support children are used to explain the findings and draw implications for parent behavior and educational practice.     

Attributions,affect, and behavior in abuse-risk mothers: a laboratory study

OBJECTIVE: There were two main aims: first, to assess parental attributions about child behavior in abuse-risk and nonclinic parents. Second, to assess how attributions predict affective and behavioral reactions to child behavior. METHOD: Internal-external attributions relating to the causes of child behavior were compared across mothers at-risk of child abuse (n = 40) and mothers who reported no significant parental or child conduct or behavior problems (n = 20). Mothers' attributions about the causes of the behavior of their own child and an unfamiliar child were recorded in response to the presentation of videotaped excerpts of the behavior. RESULTS: Results highlighted that compared with nonclinic mothers, abuse-risk mothers had a tendency to attribute positive child behavior to more external causes and negative child behavior to more internal causes. Differences were also found between parental cognitions about clearly positive, clearly naughty, and ambiguous child behavior. In the abuse-risk group, positive child behavior predicted coercive parenting when it elicited angry feelings in the mother; ambiguous and naughty child behavior led to coercive parenting through valence ratings of "deviant" and attributions of "internality." Analyses within the abuse-risk group showed that parental attributions are predictive of parental coerciveness for unfamiliar behavior. As behavior becomes more familiar, ratings of its valence and the affect it elicits override attributional activity. CONCLUSIONS: Parental attributions about the causes of child behavior differ according to the valence and familiarity of that behavior, and discriminate between parents at risk for child abuse. Further, attributions are predictive of the affective and behavioral responses the parent makes to the child's behavior for ambiguous or unfamiliar behavior. Evidence was found for the validity of using videotaped stimuli of the behavior of known and unknown children as a method of assessing parental attributions.     

The Role of Negative Affect and Physiological Regulation in Maternal Attribution

Objective. Mothers who attribute child misbehaviors to children’s intentions, and not to situational causes, show more hostile parenting behaviors. Why are some mothers more likely than others to make more hostile attributions (i.e., high intentional attributions and low situational attributions) when confronted with child challenging behaviors? We examined the relation between mothers’ perception of child challenging behaviors and their hostile attributions of child misbehaviors, with an emphasis on how maternal negative affect and resting vagal activity moderated this relation. Design. One hundred sixty mothers of 3- to 7-year-old children reported their perceptions of child problem behaviors, their attributions regarding child misbehaviors, and their temperamental negative affect. Mothers’ respiratory sinus arrhythmia was measured during resting state. Results. Maternal perceptions of child challenging behaviors were positively related to hostile maternal attributions, and this relation was strongest in mothers with high negative affect and low resting RSA. Conclusions. These findings indicate the importance of considering mothers’ affective and physiological attributes when examining social-cognitive processes in parenting.     

Cultural Variability in Parent and Child Achievement Attributions: A study from Hong Kong

The primary aim of the present study was to investigate whether variations exist in child and parent attributions in predicting child academic achievement within a culture and between cultures. Participants were 158 students and their parents from three different primary schools in Hong Kong, including one British international school consisting of students who are predominantly from a British background and two Chinese public schools each with a distinct SES profile. This paper extends the findings of previous research whereby Western parents attribute their child’s success to ability and Chinese parents attribute their child’s success to effort. Additionally, this study found that the Chinese children’s attributions differed according to the SES catchments of their schools; children from higher SES were inclined to attribute success to effort. The results are discussed in terms of parent and child attributions’ prediction of child’s academic achievement within Hong Kong’s family demographic.     

Fathers' and Mothers' Parenting Predicting and Responding to Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviors

Transactional models of problem behavior argue that less effective parenting and adolescent problem behaviors coevolve, exerting bidirectional influences. This article extends such models by analyzing growth trajectories of sexual risk behaviors and parenting processes among 3,206 adolescents (aged 13–18) and their residential parents. Within individuals, increases in regular family activities prospectively predicted declines in adolescents' risky sexual activities. In contrast, increases in risky sexual activities predicted heightened father knowledge. Between-individual comparisons revealed bidirectional links between more involved parenting, particularly family activities and father knowledge, and lower adolescent risky sexual activity. Results highlight the importance of family activities as a protective force for adolescents and suggest that fathers may react differently than mothers in the face of youth problem behaviors.     

Parenting Practices and Peer Group Affiliation in Adolescence

Social scientists have often assumed that parental influence is sharply curtailed at adolescence because of the rising counterinfluence of peer groups, over which parents have little control. The present study tested a conceptual model that challenged this view by arguing that parents retain a notable but indirect influence over their teenage child's peer associates. Data from a sample of 3,781 high school students (ages 15–19) indicated that specific parenting practices (monitoring, encouragement of achievement, joint decision making) were significantly associated with specific adolescent behaviors (academic achievement, drug use, self-reliance), which in turn were significantly related to membership in common adolescent crowds (jocks, druggies, etc.). Findings encourage investigators to assess more carefully parents' role in adolescents' peer group affiliations.     

Examining the Circles of Adults process for Children Looked After: the role of self-efficacy and empathy in staff behaviour change

ABSTRACT

The Circles of Adults (CoA) group problem solving process has been used by educational psychologists (EPs) when supporting vulnerable educational placements, but its effects upon staff or student outcomes have not been explored. CoAs were used in the current research with staff supporting Children Looked After (CLA) in secondary schools. A quasi-experimental explanatory, sequential, mixed-methods design investigated changes in participant causal attributions, perceived self-efficacy, and perceived implementation of subsequent actions. Participation in the CoA had no significant effects upon causal attributions or self-efficacy; however, staff perceived greater self-efficacy and success in implementing actions following the CoA. They valued the process, reporting enhanced group cohesion and task focus. Insights and empathy were deepened regarding the focus student, as were awareness of group processes and reflection. Threats in small-scale research are considered and a possible mechanism for the CoA’s effect as a supervisory approach is proposed.     

Parenting Attributions and Attitudes in Cross-Cultural Perspective

OBJECTIVE: This article used the Parenting Across Cultures Project to evaluate similarities and differences in mean levels and relative agreement between mothers' and fathers' attributions and attitudes in parenting in 9 countries. DESIGN: Mothers and fathers reported their perceptions of causes of successes and failures in caregiving and their progressive versus authoritarian childrearing attitudes. Gender and cultural similarities and differences in parents' attributions and attitudes in 9 countries were analyzed: China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, or the United States. RESULTS: Although mothers and fathers did not differ in any attribution, mothers reported more progressive parenting attitudes and modernity of childrearing attitudes than did fathers, and fathers reported more authoritarian attitudes than did mothers. Country differences also emerged in all attributions and attitudes that were examined. Mothers' and fathers' attributions and their attitudes were moderately correlated, but parenting attitudes were more highly correlated in parents than were attributions. CONCLUSIONS: We draw connections among the findings across the 9 countries and outline implications for understanding similarities and differences in mothers' and fathers' parenting attributions and attitudes.