Gender Differences in Parenting Styles and Effects on the ParentChild 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,measurehowtheyaffecttheparentchildrelationship. 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 GenderDifferencesinParentingStylesandEffectsontheParentChildRelationship 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 manssphereisusuallyoutsidethehomeintheworkplace.Thewomanssphereis insidethehometakingcareofhouseholdchoresandthechildren. Familieshavechangeddrasticallyfromthestereotypical1950sstayathome momandtheworkingdad.Gerson(2002)foundthatbothmenandwomenoften expressedstronglyegalitarianattitudestowardparenting.However,eventhoughmost mothersfromthe1980stotodayworkoutsidethehome,thereisstillwhatiscalledthe secondshiftofhouseworkandchildcarewhenthewomangetshomefromafulldayof work(Hochschild,2003).Mothers,onaverage,spendmoretimetakingcareofchildren thanfathers(Craig,2006).Itmayfollowthatchildrenwouldfeelmoreemotional closenesstotheirmothersthantheirfathersbecausetheyhavespentmoretimewith theirmothers. Folbreetal(2001)saidthattakingcareofchildrenisacomplicatedmixtureof workandloveinwhichtherelationshipitselfisveryimportant.Researchershave

GenderDifferencesandParenting 3 beguntostudytheaffectofthechildsattachmenttothefatheraswellasthemother (Thompson,2000).Fathersrelationshipswiththeirchildrenareactuallyvery important,despitewhatmanypeoplemaythink.AccordingtoDaltonIII,FrickHorbury, andKitzmann(2006)reportsoffathersparenting,butnotmothers,wererelatedtothe qualityofcurrentrelationshipswitharomanticpartner.Also,fathersparentingwas 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,DavisKean,&Hofferth,2001). Thereasonforthegenderdifferenceinhowmuchtimemothersandfathers spendwiththeirchildrenisprobablynotduetothefactthatfathersdontwantto spendtimewiththeirchildren.Infact,Milkie,Mattingly,Nomaguchi,Bianchi,and Robinson(2004)foundthatmensaidthattheywantedtospendmoretimewiththeir children.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 4 Onecommonviewofmothersisthattheyareoftenoverinvolvedintheir childrenslives,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)whoparticipatedforextracreditinasophomoreleveldevelopmental psychologyclass.Theparticipantsrangedinagefromyoungerthan18toolderthan25. Oneparticipantwasunder18,89were18or19,122were20or21,67werebetween 22and25,and23wereolderthan25.Asubset,the180participants(54menand126 women)whoindicatedthattheylivedwithboththeirmotherandfatherequallywhen theyweregrowingup,werethemaingroupthatwasthefocusofthisstudy.The materialandmethodswereapprovedbyTexasStateUniversitysInstitutionalReview Board. Materials Thematerialsusedinthisstudywerefourstandardsurveyquestionsasking abouttheparticipantssex,age,ethnicity,socioeconomicstatus,andonequestion askingabouttheparticipantsparentsrelationshipstatus.Therewere13questions askingaboutwhotheparticipantspentthemosttimewith,feltclosesttoowhile growingupandcurrently,havethemostincommonwith,enjoyedspendingtimewith themost,ect.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 6 Thelast50questionsweretheParentalBondingInventory(PBI;Parker,Tupling andBrown,1979)whichisa50questionselfreportsurveyusingafourpointLikert scale,rangingfromverylike(1)toveryunlike(4),designedtoassessthe individualsperceptionofcareandoverprotectionfromeachparentduringthefirst16 yearsoftheindividualslife.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 respondentsmood(Parker,1989).Parker(1989)alsoreportedsupportforthePBIs 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,ttests,andcorrelations. Results SurveyQuestions Chisquaretestswereusedtoanalyzethefrequenciesofthequestionsbasedon

genderofthechildandgenderoftheparentforthesubsetofparticipantswholived withtheirmotherandfatherequallywhilegrowingup.Outofthe302participants,180 livedwithbothparentsforthesameamountoftimewhengrowingup.Thisgroupof 180participantsmadeupthesubsetthatwetested.Thestudentsleftoutofthetest were101studentswhospentmoretimelivingwiththeirmother,17studentswho spentmoretimelivingwiththeirfather,and4studentswholivedwithneitherparent. Regardingclosenesstoparentswhilegrowingup,81indicatedtheyfeltclosettotheir mother,32closesttotheirfather,and63feltequallyclosetobothparts,X2(2)=20.94, p<.001.Similarly,forwhichparentspentthemosttimetakingcareofyouwhenyou weregrowingup,120participantsindicatedtheirmother,7indicatedtheirfather,and 52saidbothequally,X2(2)=108.48,p<.001.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 8 Seetableonnextpage: Table1:Frequenciesofparentalrelationshipitemsforparticipantswhogrewupliving withbothparentsequally Item Feltclosesttoo growingup Caretakingtime 120 growingup Punishedmost *p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001 ParentalBondingInventory Forparticipantswhoindicatedthattheylivedequallywiththeirmothers 52 61 61 .93 7 52 108.48*** Mother 81 Father 32 BothEqually 63 ChiSquare 20.94***

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 participantsgender,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 womansresponsibilitytotakecareofherchildren. Manyofthefindingsofthissurveygoalongwithstereotypicalbeliefsabout parenting,forexample,thefindingthatfathersaresignificantlymoreoverprotectiveof theirdaughtersthanoftheirsons.Thisprobablyhastodowiththebeliefthatwomen needprotectionfrommenandthatmenaremoreindependentandcanmaketheirown decisions.Also,thefindinginthisstudythatmothersaremoreoverprotectiveand caringthanfathersprobablyhastodowiththefactthatmothersspendmoretimewith

GenderDifferencesandParenting 10 theirchildrenthanfathers.Stereotypically,afathersroleisoftenseenasaprovider role,andamothersroleisseenasthecaretakersrole(Gerson,2002).Alsothefinding thatmothersareperceivedonaverageasspendingmoretimetakingcareoftheir childrenthanfathersevenwhenworkingfulltimesupportswhatweknowaboutthe secondshiftandmenandwomensperceivedresponsibilityinandoutofthehome (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,womensincomeisseenassupplemental andifachildissick,theresponsibilityusuallylieswiththemothertostayhomefrom worktotakecareofthechild(Yaremko&Lawson,2007). Thecorrelationsthatwerefoundinthisstudywerealsoveryinteresting.The morecaringamotherorfatherwas,thelesslikelytheyweretobeviewedbytheiradult childrenasoverprotectiveandviceversa.Itseemsthatbeingoverprotectivemaybe

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 traditionalgenderrolescontinuinginfluenceonparenting,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 thesocialidealoffathersascoparentswithmothers.Fatherstodayarecaringmorefor theirchildrentodaythaninthepast(Sandberg&Hofferth,2001).

GenderDifferencesandParenting 14 References Baxter,J.(2002,December).Patternsofchangeandstabilityinthegenderdivisionof householdlabourinAustralia,19861997.JournalofSociology,38(4),399424. Bem,S.(1981).Genderschematheory:acognitiveaccountofsextyping.Psychological Review,88,354364 Craig,L.(2006,April).DOESFATHERCAREMEANFATHERSSHARE?AComparisonof HowMothersandFathersinIntactFamiliesSpendTimewithChildren.Gender& Society,20(2),259281. Dalton,W.,FrickHorbury,D.,&Kitzmann,K.(2006,January).Youngadults' retrospectivereportsofparentingbymothersandfathers:Associationswith currentrelationshipquality.JournalofGeneralPsychology,133(1),518. Eagly,A.H.(1987).Sexdifferencesinsocialbehavior:asocialrole interpretation.Hillsdale,NJ:LawrenceErlbaumAssociates,Inc. Eagly,A.H.Steffen,V.J.(1984).Genderstereotypesstemfromthedistributionof womenandmenintosocialroles.JournalofPersonalityandSocialPsychology, 46(4),735754. Folbre,N.,Christensen,K.,Gringeri,C.,Matthaei,J.,Kornbluh,F.,Rose,N.,etal.(2001). Theinvisibleheart:economicsandfamilyvalues. Ganong,L.,&Coleman,M.(2001).Contentoffatherstereotypes.Contentoffather stereotypes.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 15 Gerson,K.(2002,February).MoralDilemmas,MoralStrategies,andtheTransformation ofGender:LessonsfromTwoGenerationsofWorkandFamilyChange.Gender& Society,16(1),8. HochschildA,MachungA.(2003).Thesecondshift[ebook].Availablefrom:Family& SocietyStudiesWorldwide,Ipswich,MA. Milkie,M.,Mattingly,M.,Nomaguchi,K.,Bianchi,S.,&Robinson,J.(2004,August).The TimeSqueeze:ParentalStatusesandFeelingsaboutTimewithChildren.Journal ofMarriageandFamily,66(3),739761. Parker,G.,Tupling,H.,andBrown,L.B.(1979).AParentalBondingInstrument.British JournalofMedicalPsychology,52,110. Parker,G.(1989).TheParentalBondingInstrument:psychometricpropertiesreviewed. PsychiatricDevelopments,7(4),317335. Pohl,R.,Bender,M.,&Lachmann,G.(2005,September).AutobiographicalMemoryand SocialSkillsofMenandWomen.AppliedCognitivePsychology,19(6),745759. Slavkin,M.,&Stright,A.(2000,January).GenderRoleDifferencesinCollegeStudents fromOneandTwoParentFamilies.SexRoles,42(1/2),2337. Thompson,R.(2000,January).TheLegacyofEarlyAttachments.ChildDevelopment, 71(1),145. Yaremko,S.,&Lawson,K.(2007,November).Gender,InternalizationofExpressive Traits,andExpectationsofParenting.SexRoles,57(9/10),675687.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 16 Yeung,W.,Sandberg,J.,DavisKean,P.,&Hofferth,S.(2001,February).Children'stime withfathersinintactfamilies.JournalofMarriageandFamily,63(1),136154.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 17 Appendix Pleasefillinyourscantronwiththeappropriateletterforeachitem. 1.Yoursex a.Male b.Female 2.Age a.Youngerthan18 b.18or19 c.20or21 d.2225 e.Olderthan25 3.Ethnicity a.Caucasian/White b.AfricanAmerican c.Hispanic/LatinAmerican d.Asian e.Other 4.Howwouldyoudescribeyoursocioeconomicstatus? a.Upperclass b.Uppermiddleclass c.Middleclass d.Lowermiddleclass e.Lowerclass 5.Parentsrelationshipstatus a.Biologicalparentsmarried b.Biologicalparentsdivorcedfromeachother c.Biologicalparentswerenevermarried d.Motherisawidow e.Fatherisawidower ParentingQuestions 6.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentdidyoulivewiththemostwhenyouwere growingup? a.Biologicalmotherandfatherequally b.Biologicalmother c.Biologicalfather d.Neitherbiologicalparent

GenderDifferencesandParenting 18 7.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentdidyouspendthemosttimewithwhenyou weregrowingup? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Didnotlivewitheitherparent 8.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentwouldyousayyoufeelclosesttoowhenyou weregrowingup? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Didnotfeelatallclosetoeitherparent 9.Whichbiologicaloradoptiveparentspentthemosttimetakingcareofyouwhenyou weregrowingup?(Cooking,cleaning,takingyoutoschool,ect.) a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither 10.Mostofthetime,didyourmotherworkwhileyouweregrowingup? a.No b.Yes,fulltime c.Yes,parttime d.Doesnotapply(livedwithfatherorotherfamilymember) 11.Mostofthetime,didyourfatherworkwhileyouweregrowingup? a.No b.Yes,Fulltime c.Yes,Parttime d.Doesnotapply(livedwithmotherorotherfamilymember) 12.Whichparentpunishedyouthemostasachild? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither/doesnotapply 13.Whichparentspentthemosttimeplayingwithyouasachild? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither

GenderDifferencesandParenting 19 14.Whichparentdoyouthinkthatyouspentthemostqualitytimewithasachild? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither 15.Whichparentdoyoufeelclosesttootoday? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither 16.Whichparentdoyoutalktoorseethemosttoday? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither 17.Whodoyouhavemoreincommonwith? a.Mother b.Father c.Ihavethesameamountofthingsincommonwithbothparents d.Neither 18.Whodoyouenjoyspendingthemosttimewith? a.Mother b.Father c.Bothparentsequally d.Neither ParentalBondingInventory Thisquestionnairelistsvariousattitudesandbehaviorsofparents.Asyouremember yourMother/Fatherinyourfirst16years,wouldyoupleaseindicatethemost appropriateresponsecategory.(Ifyoudidnotgrowupwithyourmotherorfather, pleaseleavethatsectionblank.) Pleaseanswerthesefirst25questionsaboutyourmother. Responsecategories: a.VeryLike b.ModeratelyLike c.ModeratelyUnlike d.Veryunlike

GenderDifferencesandParenting 20 19.Spoketomewithawarmandfriendlyvoice. 20.DidnothelpmeasmuchasIneeded. 21.LetmedothosethingsIlikeddoing. 22.Seemedemotionallycoldtome. 23.Appearedtounderstandmyproblems&worries 24.Wasaffectionatetome. 25.Likedmetomakemyowndecisions 26.Didnotwantmetogrowup. 27.TriedtocontroleverythingIdid 28.Invadedmyprivacy 29.Enjoyedtalkingthingsoverwithme 30.Frequentlysmiledatme. 31.Tendedtobabyme. 32.DidnotseemtounderstandwhatIneededorwanted 33.Letmedecidethingsformyself 34.MademefeelIwasntwanted 35.CouldmakemefeelbetterwhenIwasupset 36.Didnottalkwithmeverymuch. 37.Triedtomakemedependentonher/him 38.FeltIcouldnotlookaftermyselfunlessshe/hewasaround 39.GavemeasmuchfreedomasIwanted 40.LetmegooutasoftenasIwanted. 41.Wasoverprotectiveofme 42.Didnotpraiseme 43.LetmedressinanywayIpleased Pleaseanswerthesesecond25questionsaboutyourfather. Responsecategories: a.VeryLike b.ModeratelyLike c.ModeratelyUnlike d.Veryunlike 44.Spoketomewithawarmandfriendlyvoice. 45.DidnothelpmeasmuchasIneeded. 46.LetmedothosethingsIlikeddoing. 47.Seemedemotionallycoldtome. 48.Appearedtounderstandmyproblems&worries 49.Wasaffectionatetome. 50.Likedmetomakemyowndecisions 51.Didnotwantmetogrowup.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 21 52.TriedtocontroleverythingIdid 53.Invadedmyprivacy 54.Enjoyedtalkingthingsoverwithme 55.Frequentlysmiledatme. 56.Tendedtobabyme. 57.DidnotseemtounderstandwhatIneededorwanted 58.Letmedecidethingsformyself 59.MademefeelIwasntwanted 60.CouldmakemefeelbetterwhenIwasupset 61.Didnottalkwithmeverymuch. 62.Triedtomakemedependentonher/him 63.FeltIcouldnotlookaftermyselfunlessshe/hewasaround 64.GavemeasmuchfreedomasIwanted 65.LetmegooutasoftenasIwanted. 66.Wasoverprotectiveofme 67.Didnotpraiseme 68.LetmedressinanywayIpleased Thankyouforparticipatinginoursurvey.

GenderDifferencesandParenting 22 AuthorsNote 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:Didtheparticipantsmotherworkwhiletheparticipantwasgrowingup?1.00, No(F=51).2.00,Yes,fulltime(F=93).3.00,Yes,parttime(F=35). Figure5:Didtheparticipantsfatherworkwhiletheparticipantwasgrowingup?1.00, No(F=6).2.00,Yes,fulltime(F=169).3.00,Yes,parttime(F=5).

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GenderDifferencesandParenting 26