Gender Differences in the Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting Beliefs

Abstract

In the present study we tested several hypotheses regarding the manner in which adolescents' beliefs concerning both effective discipline and the impact of parenting upon child development are associated with the parenting beliefs and practices of their parents. We used data collected as part of the first two waves of a panel study of 451 twoparent families in the midwest. The results largely supported the hypotheses. The findings indicated that mothers and fathers convey their parenting beliefs to their adolescent children via their parenting practices. Parents supportive parenting was more strongly related to the impact beliefs of girls than boys, while parents' harsh discipline, at least during late adolescence, was more closely related to the discipline beliefs of boys than girls. Female siblings held similar beliefs concerning the impact ofparenting on child development, whereas male siblings possessed similar beliefs concerning preferred approaches to discipline.