The quality of parenting is attributed to outcomes of both children and adults to great extent. These outcomes include emotional behavioral problems, adjustment, and physical health. The quality of parenting can also lead to psychological health problems later in the life of the child. The power of parenting to influence the differences of children becomes notable at the extremes. In most cases, supportive and warm parenting initiatives are associated with emotional stability, mental development, and academic achievement. On the contrary, harsh and repressive parenting may lead to aggression and conduct problems. With that in mind, it is imperative to understand what leads to the parenting behaviors to have the factors targeted in interventions to solve the problems. One cause of parenting behavior is its intergenerational transmission. In other words, it is the influence that the childhood experience of the parent has on their later childrearing life.
The intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting is most evident in the child’s personal manner, religious beliefs, political ideas, and is additionally reflected in the way a child behaves and their personality. Several studies have been conducted concerning personality and behavior and they have revealed that it is often to have the children who were brought up in abuse become abusive. The same case is true with the neglected ones as they become neglectful. However, those who are brought up in a firm but loving families become self-confident and competent in social life. Such inferences are evident in a study that Zeng-Yin Chen and Howard B. Kaplan conducted. The authors made a literature review that exposes the leading attention to the intergenerational transmission of parenting. The research was conducted and assessed based on a theoretical model that covers four aspects; role modeling, social participation, interpersonal relations, and psychological state (Chen & Kaplan, 2001).
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Every element mentioned above displayed specific hypotheses that were different from each other. According to the article, the psychological state as a mechanism exhibited that good parenting in the early adolescent period will be of indirect influence on a person’s own constructive parenting. This is through its relationship to lower levels of mental disturbance in the future parent. For the interpersonal relationships as an element, there was a hypothesis that the experience of good parenting in the early adolescent stage will have an indirect influence on the constructive parenting of an individual through the positive interpersonal relations. Chen and Kaplan further hypothesized that social participation denoted that the good parenting in early adolescent phase would have an indirect effect on an individual’s constructive parenting through active social participation. Finally, role modeling as a mechanism was hypothesized that the experience of good parenting in early adolescence will have a direct positive effect on the constructive parenting of the individual.
The authors of the research carried out their assessment of the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting through three methods of data collection utilizing the same sample. The first lot contained children at the age of 13 in 1971 in Houston, Texas. In this case, the sample size was n = 7,618 children. The same people were tracked down later as youths in their 20s between 1980 and 1988, and when they were young adults in their 30s between 1993 and 1997 (Chen & Kaplan, 2001). The final sample contained adults that were fully parents. In this case, the sample size was n =2,338 parents. The final sample was treated specially and only included those respondents who had at least one child of age between 6 to 18 years for eligibility. This was because the study was concerned with the intergenerational transmission of parenting.
The data collection method was self-administered questionnaires to which the adolescent students responded. Household interviews followed the respondents between 1980 and 1988 when they were at their 20s and the same was done when they were parents between 1993 and 1997. The researchers analyzed the data using LISREL 8 to determine the measurement and the structural models that utilized the utmost probable approximations. Chen and Kaplan hypothesized a healthy psychological state as a mediation factor of the intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting (Chen & Kaplan, 2001).
The results of this research supported the aforementioned hypotheses and suggested that interpersonal relations, social participation, and role-specific modeling can be used to assess the continuity of constructive parenting from one generation to another (Chen & Kaplan, 2001). The results of the study indicated that the children who received strong constructive parenting from their parents displayed minimal psychological disturbances, more social participation, and enhanced interpersonal abilities as compared to their counterparts where the type of parenting lacked. Social participation and interpersonal connections in early childhood was a predictive factor of constructive parenting in middle school.
Numerous studies support the topic of intergenerational transmission of parenting. The one of Chen and Kaplan (2001) adds to the plethora of literature that already exists of such a subject. A striking difference that lies in the many types of research is the methods utilized to conclude and proving the hypothesis. Commenting on this study takes the direction of analyzing the techniques of selecting the sample, collecting data, and analysis to come up with the inference. Chen and Kaplan (2001) conducted a qualitative study and this means for anybody to understand the direction it takes, the methods must be clear. As the authors have indicated, most studies involving this topic depending on the reflective reports that individuals have on the kind of parental upbringing they receive after they have become an adult. Then, the researchers continue to crosscheck the current situation and comparing them to the anecdotes. This often leads to distortion of the recollection with the current behaviors, emotional states, and perceptions. Thus, the study method of Chen and Kaplan (2001) assist solve the problem of the unreliability of anecdotes as a means of data collection in qualitative researches.
With this in mind, the researchers utilize a three-wave longitudinal data set. The information obtained from the respondents represented their contemporaneous reports on their perception of the upbringing they get during their adolescent stage. It also assesses the mediating progression in early adulthood and the kind of parenting that the subjects deliver when carrying out their duties as the parents in middle adulthood. It is clear that this study used observations that do not interfere with the subjects under examination at any time. The time that Chen and Kaplan followed entirely depended on the respondents. What this means is that it was possible to track variable patterns over time. As with other longitudinal studies, this one also involved collecting data over a long period and thus patterns can be efficiently determined.
As this research involves development aspects, the use of longitudinal method was effective in determining the changes that occur in the lifetime of the respondents and thus making it possible to single out an outlier. In most longitudinal studies, there is always the danger of sample attrition. In other words, some individuals may feel the urge to drop out of the study with time. As such is highly probable, Chen and Kaplan acknowledged it and routed out the possible bias that this could bring. Their research took place over 20 years, following the same subjects from their adolescence. With these people having different characteristics, it is a danger to have such attrition happening to the sample. The dropouts may have a unique set of features that are related to the study and this may bring different results between the starting and ending samples. The bias that results from sample attrition may lead to incomplete or missing data. Consequently, Chen and Kaplan’s study had a danger of weakened validity. Of importance is the impact it has on external validity. This means that the research cannot be generalized as representatives of other populations.
For instance, when the means and standard deviations of samples are taken, the authors note that those who were present in the three waves of had a higher percentage of women and Whites. What this can mean is that if the samples were taken uniformly at the start of the experiment, there occurred non-uniform attrition. That is, more Mexican Americans dropped out as compared Whites. This is an indication that bias is likely to creep in and the results cannot be generalized to the population of the former. However, the researchers went ahead and to create an index that took care of the risk factors as a check for moderating the effect of being socially biased after the sample attrition. This is an important step in ensuring the dataset is as much representative to the entire population as possible. However, the article still advices the users to refrain from extrapolating the results of the study outside the current sample. This is because eliminating bias in such a longitudinal study is not an absolute task.
Despite the problems the study experiences with a possible bias, it has numerous strengths in the selection of the method. It is evident that the researchers utilized the prospective method of determining endpoints. In other words, Chen and Kaplan selected their subjects and measured their exposures or risk factors way before the occurrence of the outcome. There is a possibility to establish a time sequence or temporality in this important method. The sample selection in this study makes it be at an advantageous position, as it is possible to track the natural history of the exposure to the measured variable. This means that it is possible to follow the adolescents through their lives to figure out their growth and perception of parenting. As compared to retrospective analysis, the researchers were poised to measure uniformity during the entire study and thus an effective way of making inferences.
The study that Chen and Kaplan conducted focuses on the theoretical models that affect intergenerational continuity of constructive parenting. However, several other empirical types of research are available that show similarities and counterparts within the research and inference that the authors conducted. These are based on personality theory. To begin with, it is imperative to note that moral development is an essential factor in the determination of the intergenerational transmission of parenting. This is a multifaceted concept that affects individual growth that involves motivation, behavior, cognition, and self-assessment that is founded on personal interpretations of what is correct and wrong ( Allen, 2015) . There is an existence in the interrelation between behavior, feelings, and thoughts. From the perspective of behavior, morality depends on the consistency of consequences, competency, quality of modeled behavior, and the clarity of social regulations. Media figures, peers, and parents are models of society’s moral behavior.
Freud’s theory of personality is one that explains the tenets of development and how they affect the overall growth of humans. Psychodynamic theory of personality emphasizes the interaction between nature and nurture. The latter is the focus of this paper and includes parental influences ( Allen, 2015) . The approach is focused on the superego, a moral branch of personality, and how it is affected by the elements of ideal conscience and ego. The superego instills morals and values that the child learns from the models of behavior, one of them being the parents. Freud’s theory suggests that personality involves three factors; instinctual drives, an unconscious process, and most importantly for this case, early childhood experiences through parental care. There is a high dependence of personality development on the interaction between instinct and the surrounding during the initial five years of life. The behavior of parents is vital in shaping the normal and abnormal development. According to this theory, mental and personal health problems are usually traceable to the first five years.
Freud addresses that the parents may influence moral development by withdrawing love and asserting power during the early childhood. However, the punitive strategies of upbringing have not been found to be as effective as induction, which involves an explanation of the responsibility to a child and clarifying how it relates to outcomes of others. This is how empathy is developed and involves being responsive and perceptive of the emotional condition of others. Lack of this emotional response is related to antisocial and violent behavior.
Freud showed that the children that always cope with the frightening state of mind by repressing them and by acknowledging the rival parent. Through the process of identification, the superego of the children develops strength as they include many of the values of their parents. The theorist explains that by identifying with the parent of the same sex leads to the so-called gender identity, which involves the sense of being female or male. Freud and modern object relations theorists have assumptions that the relations a person has with their parents during early childhood influences the development of frailties, personality, and identity. According to psychodynamic theory, the conflicts that stay unresolved during the early stages of psychosexual development could come up as maladaptive behavior during adulthood. As this is the case, the theory is in line with the results Chen and Kaplan had and showed that personality curtails from early childhood years.
Another important personality theory that explains the intergenerational transmission of parenting is Bandura’s social learning. The social learning perspective focuses on the influence that observing what others do can have on the life of a person ( Kline, 2015) . People learn from examples as well as from direct experience that has either reward or punishment. In this case, the models of behavior (parents, media figures, and peers) influence the helpful conduct and on the other hand, may lead to aggressive antisocial behavior. This explanation was developed through experiments involving adults, children, and a Bobo doll. In the 1961 study, Bandura made a film that exposed an adult model throwing punches, kicks and shouting aggressive words to the doll. Afterward, the theorist showed the same film to a group of children and then allowed them to play in an enclosure with the Bobo doll. The ones who had viewed the footage containing the violent model were more likely to beat the doll as compared to the ones who did not see the film. This means they learned the actions of the adult, without reward or punishment, but through observation (social learning). The children imitated what they saw as their model doing. The children did not only represent the behavior in the degree of aggression but also in the nature that the adult exhibited ( Kline, 2015) .
Social learning theory thus shows that the upbringing of a child affects how they will conduct themselves in the future. The children who come from violent homes will be more likely to exhibit the same behavior when they become adults as compared to the ones from tranquil families. This explains the hypotheses that Chen and Kaplan proved. The illustration above is representative of the social cognitive perspective, which focuses on the importance of cognitive processes, situational influences, self-efficacy, and observational learning. As nature and nurture (Freud’s theory) are work together to influence the experiences of an individual, so do the situations and the person involved ( Kline, 2015) . Many theorists (both learning and social cognitive) believe that much of our behavior is learned through observation or by means of conditioning and we model our conduct from there. However, mental processing is also important in perceiving the conditions in which we find ourselves. Instead of focusing on how our environment controls us, social cognitive theorists emphasize how we interact with it.
This study encompasses my own personality and life. Of importance is the fact that the information presented above relates to my experiences in the possibility of learning the behavior of the models of social morals and norms. According to social learning theory, people embrace behavior through observations, conditioning, or modeling of the social factors in their environment. With that effect, I can say that my childhood was full of imitation and learning. The depiction of my childhood takes the form of a neglected person and who was constantly exposed to aggressive conduct and tendencies. My father was a violent person who would always hurl insults to my mother and at times beat her while we watched. He was also an alcoholic who would drink until late and come back home and rough us up. My mother became depressed but was always submissive to my father.
When I reached the adolescence stage, I was at the climax of destruction. Having watched the violence at home as a child, I developed a tendency of exhibiting the same to the people I interacted with. I started to act and participate in violent, aggressive, and cruel conducts and behaviors. At that stage, it occurred to me that my father drank to sink away from the memories of his childhood. He also had a rough one at the height when the people focused on individualism and perfection. What my father did not know was that while trying to reconcile his childhood, he was destroying that of his kids. Looking back to such life makes me believe that everyone was learning something from everyone in the house. For my mother to survive, she had to be submissive and accept to be beaten for us to be safe. On the side of us children, we learned that violence is the only way to survival and this could be seen in how our siblings rebelled in carrying out house chores. Before getting an education, I expressed the behavior that was the way of the norm in our house.
The illustration from my family shows that people who are brought up in violent families, being violent become the norm (Heyman & Slep, 2002). This is different from the ones who grow in a positive environment. Despite the fact that violence is part of my personality, it is suppressed and only waits for the environmental situation that calls for its exposure. According to me, every element related to behavior and personality is within everyone and only comes out when needed or required. The same can be illustrated in people working in combat areas. That individual who is known to have subtle behavior can surprise others when it comes to the matter of survival or death (Heyman & Slep, 2002). I believe that changes in the environment can cause the personality and conduct of an individual to change. Being exposed to a violent environment as a child made me develop aggressive behavior in my teenage. However, through education, I can now become subtle, as there is no need for violence. To that effect, it is possible to infer that I developed behavior of both my parents, with respect to the environment. When there was a need for violence, I was aggressive, but when the time came to be subtle, I exhibited the traits of my mother.
My illustration shows that it is possible for a parent from one generation to continue and display the parenting conduct that their parents exposed them. The research on intergenerational transmission of parenting has been conducted mostly through adult anecdotes. However, the stability of such studies has always come to question predominantly because of the retrospective characteristics, which are subject to distortion or unintentional fabrication. Through longitudinal research such as the one in this paper, it is possible to obtain the most useful retrievable information. The long time lapse, however, makes the longitudinal studies rare in publication.
References
Allen, B. P. (2015). Personality theories: Development, growth, and diversity . Psychology Press.
Chen, Z., & Kaplan, H.B. (2001). Intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting. Journal of Marriage and Family , 63 (1), 17-31.
Heyman, R.E., & Slep, A.M.S. (2002). Do child abuse and interparental violence lead to adulthood family violence? Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 864-870.
Kline, P. (2015). Personality (Psychology Revivals): Measurement and Theory . Routledge.
