gender differences in parenting styles and effects on the parent
TRANSCRIPT
Gender Differences in Parenting Styles and Effects on the Parent-
Child Relationship
Approved:
____________________________ Dr. Heather C. Galloway
Director, University Honors Program Approved: ____________________________ Dr. Shirley S. Ogletree Department of Psychology Supervising Professor
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN PARENTING STYLES AND
EFFECTS ON THE PARENT CHILD RELATIONSHIP
HONORS THESIS
Presented to the Honors Committee of
Texas State University-San Marcos
In Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements
For Graduation in the University Honors Program
By
Meredith Ashley Stephens
San Marcos, Texas
May 2009
GenderDifferencesandParenting
1 Abstract
Thepurposeofthisstudywastodetermineiftherewereanygenderdifferencesin
parentingstylesandifso,measurehowtheyaffecttheparent‐childrelationship.
Participantsweregivenasurveyaskingbasicdemographicquestions,questionsabout
whichparent/parentstheyhavelivedwiththemost,andquestionsthatrelatedtothe
genderrolesofeachparent.ParticipantswerealsogiventheParentalBonding
Inventorythatmeasuresmaternalcareandoverprotectivenessandpaternalcareand
overprotectiveness.Thereweresignificantgenderdifferencesinthewaysthatparents
interactedwiththeirchildren.Forexamplemostyoungpeoplehavebeenraisedby
traditionalparentsandfeltclosesttotheirmothers.Mothersonaveragespentmore
timewiththeirchildreningeneralthanfathers,spentmoretimetakingcareoftheir
children,weremorelikelynottoworkfulltime,wereseenasmoreoverprotectiveand
morecaring,spentthemostqualitytimewiththeirchildren,andstillspeaktotheir
childrenmoreoftentoday.Anothergenderdifferencebetweenfathersandmotherswas
thatfathersweremorelikelytobeoverprotectiveoftheirdaughtersthantheirsons.
Theresultssupportedtraditionalgenderexpectations,withmothersspendingmore
timewiththeirchildrenandchildrenfeelingclosertotheirmotherswhengrowingup.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
2 GenderDifferencesinParentingStylesandEffectsontheParent‐ChildRelationship
Genderrolesarebeliefsaboutthewaysinwhichindividual,familial,community
andsocietalrolesaredefinedbygender(Slavkin&Stright,2000).Traditionalgender
roles,whicharecommonintraditionalfamiliesinwhichthemaleisthebreadwinner
andthefemaleisinchargeofchildcareandhousekeeping,definemasculinityasbeing
independent,assertive,andaggressive(Eagly&Steffen,1984;Eagly,1987).Femininity
isdefinedasbeingnurturing,sensitiveandemotional(Slavkin&Stright,2000;Bem,
1981).
Itiscommonknowledgethatthereareoftentwoseparatespheresinthe
household,especiallyinmanytraditionalmarriagesbetweenamanandawoman.The
man’ssphereisusuallyoutsidethehomeintheworkplace.Thewoman’ssphereis
insidethehometakingcareofhouseholdchoresandthechildren.
Familieshavechangeddrasticallyfromthestereotypical1950’sstay‐at‐home
momandtheworkingdad.Gerson(2002)foundthatbothmenandwomenoften
expressedstronglyegalitarianattitudestowardparenting.However,eventhoughmost
mothersfromthe1980’stotodayworkoutsidethehome,thereisstillwhatiscalledthe
secondshiftofhouseworkandchildcarewhenthewomangetshomefromafulldayof
work(Hochschild,2003).Mothers,onaverage,spendmoretimetakingcareofchildren
thanfathers(Craig,2006).Itmayfollowthatchildrenwouldfeelmoreemotional
closenesstotheirmothersthantheirfathersbecausetheyhavespentmoretimewith
theirmothers.
Folbreetal(2001)saidthattakingcareofchildrenisacomplicatedmixtureof
workandloveinwhichtherelationshipitselfisveryimportant.Researchershave
GenderDifferencesandParenting
3 beguntostudytheaffectofthechild’sattachmenttothefatheraswellasthemother
(Thompson,2000).Father’srelationshipswiththeirchildrenareactuallyvery
important,despitewhatmanypeoplemaythink.AccordingtoDaltonIII,Frick‐Horbury,
andKitzmann(2006)reportsoffather’sparenting,butnotmothers,wererelatedtothe
qualityofcurrentrelationshipswitharomanticpartner.Also,father’sparentingwas
relatedtotheviewoftheselfasbeingabletoformcloseandsecurerelationships
(Daltonetal,2006).
TheresultsofastudyconductedbyCraig(2006)foundthatmothersweremore
likelythanfatherstospendnotonlymoretimeoverallwiththeirchildren,butalso
moretimemultitasking,morephysicallabor,amorerigidtimetable,moretimealone
withchildren,andmoreoverallresponsibilityfortheircare.Craig(2006)alsofound
thatthesegenderdifferencesintheamountoftimespentwithchildrenaswellasthe
circumstancesstatedabovearethesameevenwhenthemotherworksfulltime.
Fatherswerefoundtobemorelikelytospendtimewiththeirchildrenbyplayingwith
them,talkingwiththem,engagingineducationalandrecreationalactivitiesmorethan
anyotherkindsofcaring(Craig,2006).Otherresearchhasconsistentlyfoundthat
mothersstillspendtwotothreetimesasmuchtimewithchildrenasfathers(Baxter,
2002;Yeung,Sandberg,Davis‐Kean,&Hofferth,2001).
Thereasonforthegenderdifferenceinhowmuchtimemothersandfathers
spendwiththeirchildrenisprobablynotduetothefactthatfathersdon’twantto
spendtimewiththeirchildren.Infact,Milkie,Mattingly,Nomaguchi,Bianchi,and
Robinson(2004)foundthatmensaidthattheywantedtospendmoretimewiththeir
children.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
4 Onecommonviewofmothersisthattheyareoftenoverinvolvedintheir
children’slives,whilefathershaveamuchlessinvolvedapproach,beingmostly
playmatesfortheirchildren(Craig,2006).Also,perhapsitismoreacceptablefor
womentoshowaffectionthanmen,soitmightbemoredifficultformentoshow
affectiontowardstheirsons.
Womenareoftenperceivedasmorenurturinginoursociety,andmanypeople
thinkthatwomenarebetterattakingcareofchildrenthanmenare(Craig,2006).Men
andwomenareoftenbelievedtohavecertaintraitsthatmakemenmoresuccessfulin
theworkplace,andwomenarebetterattakingcareofchildren.Pohl,Bender,and
Lachmann(2005)foundthatwomentendtoshowmoreempathythanmen,andmen
tendtobemoreassertivethanwomen.Peoplemayassumethatthatfindingappliesto
allmenandwomenandthattherecannotbeassertivewomenandempatheticmen.
Therefore,societyoftentendstoassumethatallwomenshouldtakecareofchildren
andallmenshouldfocusonworkandleavethechildrearingtothemother.Itisalso
assumedthatmothersshouldhaveacloserrelationshiptotheirchildrenthanthe
fathersbecausemothersaresupposedtobemorefocusedontheirchildren.
FormyresearchIexpectthatmanyofthepeopleinthissurveywerenotreared
bytheirfathers,thattheydidnotspendmuchtimewiththeirfathersandthattheywill
havespentmoretimewiththeirmotherswhentheygrowingupthantheirfathers.I
expectthisresultbecausemanypeoplethinkthattakingcareofchildrenismostlythe
responsibilityofthemother,notthefather.Singlemothersaremuchmorecommon
thansinglefathers,andyouaremorelikelytohearofastayathomemomratherthana
stayathomedad.Inaddition,whentwoparentsofachilddivorceeachother,Ithink
GenderDifferencesandParenting
5 thatitismorecommontohearofthemothergettingcustodythanthefather.Also,I
hypothesizethatbecausechildrenspendmuchmoretimewiththeirmotherswhen
theyaregrowingup,eveniftheygrowupwithbothparentsintheirlife,theywillbe
morelikelytofeelclosertotheirmothers.
Method
Participants
TheparticipantswereTexasStateUniversityundergraduates(N=302,95males,
207females)whoparticipatedforextracreditinasophomore‐leveldevelopmental
psychologyclass.Theparticipantsrangedinagefromyoungerthan18toolderthan25.
Oneparticipantwasunder18,89were18or19,122were20or21,67werebetween
22and25,and23wereolderthan25.Asubset,the180participants(54menand126
women)whoindicatedthattheylivedwithboththeirmotherandfatherequallywhen
theyweregrowingup,werethemaingroupthatwasthefocusofthisstudy.The
materialandmethodswereapprovedbyTexasStateUniversity’sInstitutionalReview
Board.
Materials
Thematerialsusedinthisstudywerefourstandardsurveyquestionsasking
abouttheparticipant’ssex,age,ethnicity,socioeconomicstatus,andonequestion
askingabouttheparticipant’sparents’relationshipstatus.Therewere13questions
askingaboutwhotheparticipantspentthemosttimewith,feltclosesttoowhile
growingupandcurrently,havethemostincommonwith,enjoyedspendingtimewith
themost,ect.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
6 Thelast50questionsweretheParentalBondingInventory(PBI;Parker,Tupling
andBrown,1979)whichisa50questionself‐reportsurveyusingafour‐pointLikert
scale,rangingfrom“verylike”(1)to“veryunlike”(4),designedtoassessthe
individual’sperceptionofcareandoverprotectionfromeachparentduringthefirst16
yearsoftheindividual’slife.Onesetof25questionswascompletedforthemotherand
thenanothersetforthefather.Careinvolvesmeasuringparentalaffection,warmthand
empathy.Alowscoreinthiscategorymeansthattheindividualsawhis/hermother
and/orfatherascaring;ahighscoremeansthemotherand/orfatherwasperceivedas
cold,indifferentandrejecting.Overprotectionmeasuressuchparentalbehaviorsas
intrusivenessandinfantilization.Ifthemotherand/orfatherreceivedalowscorein
thiscategory,theywereseenasbeingoverprotectiveand/orcontrolling.Highscores
forthemotherand/orfathermeanthattheparentorparentspromotedindependence
intheirchild.Twelvequestionsassessedcare,whichgivesamaximumscoreof48.
Thirteenquestionsmeasuredoverprotection,whichgivesamaximumscoreof52.The
PBIhasgoodpsychometricpropertiesandisinsensitivetotheeffectsofthe
respondent’smood(Parker,1989).Parker(1989)alsoreportedsupportforthePBI’s
validityasameasureofbothactualandperceivedparentingbasedonstudiesusing
familycorroborativewitnesses,twinstudies,andstudiesusingindependentraters
(Parker,1989).AllquestionsinthesurveyarefoundintheAppendix.
DesignandProcedure
Beforethesurveywasgivenout,theparticipantswereinformedaboutwhatthe
surveywasaboutandabouthowlongitwouldtakethemtocompleteit.Therewere
consentformsthatwereavailablefortheparticipantstosign.Theparticipantswere
GenderDifferencesandParenting
7 toldthattheydidnothavetocompletethesurveyiftheydidnotwanttoo.Theywere
toldnottoputtheirnamesanywhereonthesurvey.Therewasnotimelimitfor
completingthesurvey.
Afterthesurveywasfinished,theparticipantswerethankedfortheirtimeand
participationandgiveninformationaboutwhenandhowtheycouldfindoutaboutthe
resultsofthestudy.Theywerealsoallowedtokeepacopyoftheconsentformifthey
chosetodoso.
DataAnalysis
Datawereanalyzedusingthechisquares,t‐tests,andcorrelations.
Results
SurveyQuestions
Chi‐squaretestswereusedtoanalyzethefrequenciesofthequestionsbasedon
genderofthechildandgenderoftheparentforthesubsetofparticipantswholived
withtheirmotherandfatherequallywhilegrowingup.Outofthe302participants,180
livedwithbothparentsforthesameamountoftimewhengrowingup.Thisgroupof
180participantsmadeupthesubsetthatwetested.Thestudentsleftoutofthetest
were101studentswhospentmoretimelivingwiththeirmother,17studentswho
spentmoretimelivingwiththeirfather,and4studentswholivedwithneitherparent.
Regardingclosenesstoparentswhilegrowingup,81indicatedtheyfeltclosettotheir
mother,32closesttotheirfather,and63feltequallyclosetobothparts,X2(2)=20.94,
p<.001.Similarly,forwhich“parentspentthemosttimetakingcareofyouwhenyou
weregrowingup,”120participantsindicatedtheirmother,7indicatedtheirfather,and
52saidbothequally,X2(2)=108.48,p<.001.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
8 Seetableonnextpage:
Table1:Frequenciesofparentalrelationshipitemsforparticipantswhogrewupliving
withbothparentsequally
Item Mother Father BothEqually ChiSquare
Feltclosesttoo
growingup
81 32 63 20.94***
Caretakingtime
growingup
120 7 52 108.48***
Punishedmost 52 61 61 .93
*p<.05
**p<.01
***p<.001
ParentalBondingInventory
Forparticipantswhoindicatedthattheylivedequallywiththeirmothers
andfathersgrowingup,motherswerefoundtobemorecaring,t(158)=‐5.236,p<
.001;andmoreoverprotectivethanfathers,t(159)=‐2.720,p<.01.Pearson
correlationswereusedtocomparerelationsamongthecaring/overbearingvariables.
Themorecaringamotherwas,thelesslikelyshewastobeoverprotective,r(162)=‐
.24,p<.01.Also,themorecaringthefatherwas,thelesslikelyhewastobe
overprotective,r(161)=‐.32,p<.001.Ifthemotherwasperceivedasbeingcaring,the
fatherwasalsoseenascaring,r(159)=.27,p<.001.Also,themoreoverprotectivea
fatherwas,themoreoverprotectivethemotherwasaswell,r(160)=.56,p<.001
GenderDifferencesandParenting
9 Regardingdifferencesinparentalcaring/overprotectiondependingon
participants’gender,onlyoneofthefourcomparisonsweresignificant.Womenwere
morelikelythanmentoindicatethattheirfatherswereoverprotective,t(168)=2.62,p
<.01.
Dataregardingparentalcloseness,caretaking,andpunishmentareportrayedin
Table1(Seeabove)andFigures1,2,and3(Seeappendix).
Discussion
Thisstudyfocusedonthe180participantswholivedwithbothparentsequally;
101participants,almostasmanyparticipants,livedmostlyoronlywiththeirmother.
Only17participants,amuchsmallernumber,livedmostlyoronlywiththeirfather,and
fourparticipantslivedwithsomeoneotherthanabiologicalparentorparents.Ifwe
hadnotisolatedandanalyzedtheparticipantswholivedwithbothparentsequally,
therelikelywouldhavebeenevengreaterparentaldifferences,especiallyregarding
whichparenttheparticipantfeltclosesttoandspentthemosttimewithsincechildren
aremostlikelytolivewiththeirbiologicalmother,regardlessofwhetherornotthey
alsolivewiththeirbiologicalfather.Thisillustratesthegenderexpectationthatitisthe
woman’sresponsibilitytotakecareofherchildren.
Manyofthefindingsofthissurveygoalongwithstereotypicalbeliefsabout
parenting,forexample,thefindingthatfathersaresignificantlymoreoverprotectiveof
theirdaughtersthanoftheirsons.Thisprobablyhastodowiththebeliefthatwomen
needprotectionfrommenandthatmenaremoreindependentandcanmaketheirown
decisions.Also,thefindinginthisstudythatmothersaremoreoverprotectiveand
caringthanfathersprobablyhastodowiththefactthatmothersspendmoretimewith
GenderDifferencesandParenting
10 theirchildrenthanfathers.Stereotypically,afather’sroleisoftenseenasaprovider
role,andamother’sroleisseenasthecaretaker’srole(Gerson,2002).Alsothefinding
thatmothersareperceivedonaverageasspendingmoretimetakingcareoftheir
childrenthanfathersevenwhenworkingfulltimesupportswhatweknowaboutthe
secondshiftandmenandwomen’sperceivedresponsibilityinandoutofthehome
(Hochschild,2003).
ThesecondshiftasdefinedbyHochschild(2003)iswhenawomancomeshome
afterafulldayofworkandhasasecondshiftofhousework,cookingandtakingcareof
thechildren,whileherhusbanddoesnotdomuchoranyofthiswork.Thesecondshift
accountsforanextramonthofhouseworkandchildcareayearforwomen(Hochschild
2003).Forparticipantsinmysubsamplewholivedwithbothparentsequallygrowing
up,themajorityhadmothers(93of179)andfathers(169of180)whoworkedfull
time.Manychildrenwhohavetwoparentsthatworkfulltimeareputintodaycareor
leftwithafamilymemberorbabysitter.Ifonlyoneparentworkedfulltimeitwas
probablythefather,givingthemothertheentiredaywiththechildren.Whenthe
employedparentscomehomefromwork,thesecondshiftbeginsforthemotherwho
spendsmuchofthistimecooking,cleaningandtakingcareofthechildren.Often,since
menusuallymakemoremoneythanwomen,women’sincomeisseenassupplemental
andifachildissick,theresponsibilityusuallylieswiththemothertostayhomefrom
worktotakecareofthechild(Yaremko&Lawson,2007).
Thecorrelationsthatwerefoundinthisstudywerealsoveryinteresting.The
morecaringamotherorfatherwas,thelesslikelytheyweretobeviewedbytheiradult
childrenasoverprotectiveandviceversa.Itseemsthatbeingover‐protectivemaybe
GenderDifferencesandParenting
11 theoppositeofbeingcaringformanyparticipantsandtheirparents.Another
interestingfindingwasthatifthemotherorfatherwasperceivedascaring,theother
parentwasalsoverylikelytoberegardedasbeingcaring.Alsoifoneparentwas
consideredoverprotective,theotherparentwasalsomorelikelytobeseenas
overprotective.Perhapsitislesslikelyforoneparenttobecaringandtheother
overprotective.Mostparentsappeartohavesimilarstyles,atleastintheeyesoftheir
collegestudentchildren,asfarascaringandoverprotectiongo.Also,averyinteresting
genderdifferencethatwasfoundinthissurveyisthatfemalestudentsweremorelikely
thanmalestudentstoindicatethattheyhadoverprotectivefathers.
Thisstudyhassomelimitations.Firstofall,thestudyshouldbereplicated.Even
thoughthisstudyusedafairlylargesamplesize(302undergraduatestudents),there
weretwiceasmanywomenthanmen(95males,207females.)Thisstudycouldhave
beenimprovediftherewereasmanymenandwomen,sothattherecouldhavebeena
morerepresentativesampleofmales.Also,thenumberofparticipantswasmadeeven
smallerbecauseweonlyanalyzedtheparticipantswholivedwiththeirmotherand
fatherequallywhengrowingup.Thisleft180participantsoutoftheoriginal302.These
resultsmaynotbereplicatedinthelargerpopulationandmayhavebeendifferentifthe
surveyhadbeengiventoadifferentagegrouportwoparticipantslivinginadifferent
areaofthecountry.
Also,perhapsasocialdesirabilitybiasaffectedthedata;itispossiblethatsome
participantsdidnotwanttosaythattheyfeltclosertooneparentthantheother.
Faultymemorycouldalsohavebeenafactorsincethestudywasdoneretrospectively;
perhapsparticipantscouldnotaccuratelyrememberthingsabouttheirparentswhen
GenderDifferencesandParenting
12 theyweregrowingup.Anotherfactorthatmighthaveaffectedthesurveyisthatthe
participantstookthesurveyaftertakingatest,sotheymightnothavethoughtvery
carefullyaboutthequestionsandmightnothaveansweredthemasaccuratelyasthey
wouldhaveiftheyhadnotjusttakenatestthathadexhaustedthemmentally.
Inconclusion,mostyoungpeopleinthissubsamplehavehadtraditionalparents
andfeltclosesttotheirmothers.Mothersonaveragespentmoretimewiththeir
childreningeneralthanfathers,spentmoretimetakingcareoftheirchildren,were
seenasmoreoverprotectiveandmorecaring,andspentthemostqualitytimewith
theirchildren.Eventhough,intheParentalBondingInventory,motherswereseenas
moreoverprotective,femalestudentsweremorelikelytosaythattheyhadover
protectivefathersthanmalestudentswere.AlthoughIdidfinddatasupporting
traditionalgenderroles’continuinginfluenceonparenting,someindicationwasalso
foundthatparticipantsfeelclosetobothparentsasadults.Oftheparticipants,76(of
176)indicatedthattheyfeltequallyclosetobothparentstoday,and69(of171)
participantsequallytalkedtoorsawbothparents.Also,overhalfoftheparticipants
indicatedthattheyenjoyedspendingtimewithbothparentsequally.
Inthefuture,itwouldbebeneficialtodomoresurveysaboutfemalesbeing
morelikelythanmalestoindicatethattheyhadoverprotectivefathers.Therehasnot
beenmuchresearchdoneinthisarea.Also,itwouldbebeneficialiftherewasmore
researchdoneonstayathomedads,becausetheyareanimportantandgrowing
population.Fromthesefamilies,itwouldbeinterestingtolearnabouttherelationships
betweenthefatherandchildren,andifitisverydifferentfromfathersthatwork
outsidethehome.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
13 Ithinkthatinthefuture,parentingwillbecomemoreequallydividedamong
mothersandfathersandinturnthiswillresultinchildrenfeelingsimilarlycloseto
bothparents.GanongandColeman(2001)believethatwearealreadymovingtoward
thesocialidealoffathersasco‐parentswithmothers.Fatherstodayarecaringmorefor
theirchildrentodaythaninthepast(Sandberg&Hofferth,2001).
GenderDifferencesandParenting
14 References
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householdlabourinAustralia,1986‐1997.JournalofSociology,38(4),399‐424.
Bem,S.(1981).Genderschematheory:acognitiveaccountofsex‐typing.Psychological
Review,88,354‐364
Craig,L.(2006,April).DOESFATHERCAREMEANFATHERSSHARE?AComparisonof
HowMothersandFathersinIntactFamiliesSpendTimewithChildren.Gender&
Society,20(2),259‐281.
Dalton,W.,Frick‐Horbury,D.,&Kitzmann,K.(2006,January).Youngadults'
retrospectivereportsofparentingbymothersandfathers:Associationswith
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Eagly,A.H.(1987).Sexdifferencesinsocialbehavior:asocialrole
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stereotypes.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
15 Gerson,K.(2002,February).MoralDilemmas,MoralStrategies,andtheTransformation
ofGender:LessonsfromTwoGenerationsofWorkandFamilyChange.Gender&
Society,16(1),8.
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Parker,G.,Tupling,H.,andBrown,L.B.(1979).AParentalBondingInstrument.British
JournalofMedicalPsychology,52,1‐10.
Parker,G.(1989).TheParentalBondingInstrument:psychometricpropertiesreviewed.
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fromOne‐andTwo‐ParentFamilies.SexRoles,42(1/2),23‐37.
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Traits,andExpectationsofParenting.SexRoles,57(9/10),675‐687.
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16 Yeung,W.,Sandberg,J.,Davis‐Kean,P.,&Hofferth,S.(2001,February).Children'stime
withfathersinintactfamilies.JournalofMarriageandFamily,63(1),136‐154.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
17 Appendix
Pleasefillinyourscantronwiththeappropriateletterforeachitem.1.Yoursex a.Male b.Female 2.Age a.Youngerthan18 b.18or19 c.20or21 d.22‐25 e.Olderthan25 3.Ethnicity
a.Caucasian/Whiteb.AfricanAmericanc.Hispanic/LatinAmericand.Asiane.Other
4.Howwouldyoudescribeyoursocioeconomicstatus? a.Upperclass b.Upper‐middleclass c.Middleclass d.Lower‐middleclass e.Lowerclass5.Parentsrelationshipstatus a.Biologicalparentsmarried b.Biologicalparentsdivorcedfromeachother c.Biologicalparentswerenevermarried d.Motherisawidow e.Fatherisawidower
ParentingQuestions
6.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentdidyoulivewiththemostwhenyouweregrowingup? a.Biologicalmotherandfatherequally b.Biologicalmother c.Biologicalfather d.Neitherbiologicalparent
GenderDifferencesandParenting
18 7.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentdidyouspendthemosttimewithwhenyouweregrowingup? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Didnotlivewitheitherparent8.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentwouldyousayyoufeelclosesttoowhenyouweregrowingup? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Didnotfeelatallclosetoeitherparent9.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentspentthemosttimetakingcareofyouwhenyouweregrowingup?(Cooking,cleaning,takingyoutoschool,ect.) a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither10.Mostofthetime,didyourmotherworkwhileyouweregrowingup?
a.Nob.Yes,fulltimec.Yes,parttimed.Doesnotapply(livedwithfatherorotherfamilymember)
11.Mostofthetime,didyourfatherworkwhileyouweregrowingup?
a.Nob.Yes,Fulltimec.Yes,Parttimed.Doesnotapply(livedwithmotherorotherfamilymember)
12.Whichparentpunishedyouthemostasachild?a.Motherb.Fatherc.Bothparentsequally
d.Neither/doesnotapply13.Whichparentspentthemosttimeplayingwithyouasachild?
a.Motherb.Fatherc.Bothparentsequallyd.Neither
GenderDifferencesandParenting
19 14.Whichparentdoyouthinkthatyouspentthemostqualitytimewithasachild?
a.Motherb.Fatherc.Bothparentsequallyd.Neither
15.Whichparentdoyoufeelclosesttootoday? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither16.Whichparentdoyoutalktoorseethemosttoday? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither17.Whodoyouhavemoreincommonwith? a.Mother b.Father c.Ihavethesameamountofthingsincommonwithbothparents d.Neither18.Whodoyouenjoyspendingthemosttimewith? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither
ParentalBondingInventory
Thisquestionnairelistsvariousattitudesandbehaviorsofparents.AsyourememberyourMother/Fatherinyourfirst16years,wouldyoupleaseindicatethemostappropriateresponsecategory.(Ifyoudidnotgrowupwithyourmotherorfather,pleaseleavethatsectionblank.)
Pleaseanswerthesefirst25questionsaboutyourmother.
Responsecategories:
a.VeryLikeb.ModeratelyLikec.ModeratelyUnliked.Veryunlike
GenderDifferencesandParenting
20
19.Spoketomewithawarmandfriendlyvoice.20.DidnothelpmeasmuchasIneeded.21.LetmedothosethingsIlikeddoing.22.Seemedemotionallycoldtome.23.Appearedtounderstandmyproblems&worries24.Wasaffectionatetome.25.Likedmetomakemyowndecisions26.Didnotwantmetogrowup.27.TriedtocontroleverythingIdid28.Invadedmyprivacy29.Enjoyedtalkingthingsoverwithme30.Frequentlysmiledatme.31.Tendedtobabyme.32.DidnotseemtounderstandwhatIneededorwanted33.Letmedecidethingsformyself34.MademefeelIwasn’twanted35.CouldmakemefeelbetterwhenIwasupset36.Didnottalkwithmeverymuch.37.Triedtomakemedependentonher/him38.FeltIcouldnotlookaftermyselfunlessshe/hewasaround39.GavemeasmuchfreedomasIwanted40.LetmegooutasoftenasIwanted.41.Wasoverprotectiveofme42.Didnotpraiseme43.LetmedressinanywayIpleased
Pleaseanswerthesesecond25questionsaboutyourfather.
Responsecategories:
a.VeryLikeb.ModeratelyLikec.ModeratelyUnliked.Veryunlike
44.Spoketomewithawarmandfriendlyvoice.45.DidnothelpmeasmuchasIneeded.46.LetmedothosethingsIlikeddoing.47.Seemedemotionallycoldtome.48.Appearedtounderstandmyproblems&worries49.Wasaffectionatetome.50.Likedmetomakemyowndecisions51.Didnotwantmetogrowup.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
21 52.TriedtocontroleverythingIdid53.Invadedmyprivacy54.Enjoyedtalkingthingsoverwithme55.Frequentlysmiledatme.56.Tendedtobabyme.57.DidnotseemtounderstandwhatIneededorwanted58.Letmedecidethingsformyself59.MademefeelIwasn’twanted60.CouldmakemefeelbetterwhenIwasupset61.Didnottalkwithmeverymuch.62.Triedtomakemedependentonher/him63.FeltIcouldnotlookaftermyselfunlessshe/hewasaround64.GavemeasmuchfreedomasIwanted65.LetmegooutasoftenasIwanted.66.Wasoverprotectiveofme67.Didnotpraiseme
68.LetmedressinanywayIpleasedThankyouforparticipatinginoursurvey.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
22 Author’sNote
Iamverygratefultomythesissupervisor,Dr.ShirleyOgletree.Withoutherhelp,
Iwouldnothavebeenabletodothisthesis.Iamveryappreciativeforthetimeand
effortthatshespenthelpingmeontheresearchandthewritingofthisthesis.Iwould
alsoliketothankherforlettingmegivemysurveytoherclassforextracredit.
GenderDifferencesandParenting
23 FigureCaptions
Figure1:Whichparentwastheparticipantclosesttoowhilegrowingup?1.00,themost
commonchoiceisthemother(F=81).2.00,theleastcommonchoiceisthefather
(F=32).3.00isbothparentsequally(F=63).
Figure2:Whichparentdoestheparticipantfeelclosesttootoday?1.00,themother
(F=73),2.00,thefather(F=27),3.00,bothparentsequally,(F=76).
Figure3:Whichparentspentthemosttimetakingcareoftheparticipantwhenthey
weregrowingup?1.00,themother(F=120).2.00,thefather(F=7).3.00,bothparents
equally(F=52).
Figure4:Didtheparticipant’smotherworkwhiletheparticipantwasgrowingup?1.00,
No(F=51).2.00,Yes,fulltime(F=93).3.00,Yes,parttime(F=35).
Figure5:Didtheparticipant’sfatherworkwhiletheparticipantwasgrowingup?1.00,
No(F=6).2.00,Yes,fulltime(F=169).3.00,Yes,parttime(F=5).
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