Parent-infant resemblance for general and specific cognitive abilities in the Colorado adoption project

Previous publications emanating from the Colorado Adoption Project have reported significant relationships between parental general cognitive ability (g) and infant Bayley MDI scores. The present study compared infant Bayley factor scores representing separable dimensions of infant cognition with parental general and specific cognitive abilities for 182 adoptive families and 164 nonadoptive families. Parent/offspring correlations between 12-month Bayley factors and parental cognitive abilities suggest only minimal relationships for both parental g and specific abilities. At 24 months, more parent/offspring resemblance was present; moreover, Bayley factors that were related to parental cognition tended to be related to parental g, not to specific abilities. The finding of significant parent/offspring relationships at 24 months between biological parents and their adopted-away infants, as well as between nonadoptive parents and their infants, suggests some genetic continuity from infancy to adulthood.     

Ambitious mothers – successful daughters: Mothers' early expectations for children's education and children's earnings and sense of control in adult life

Background . Mothers' expectations for their children's educational attainment are related to children's educational and occupational attainment. Studies have yet to establish, however, the long‐term links between maternal expectations and offspring earnings, which are not always related to occupational attainment especially in women, or between maternal expectations and offspring sense of control and self‐efficacy, which are pivotal factors in career choice and development. Aims . To explore the role of mothers' expectations for their children's educational attainment in children's earnings attainment and sense of control later in life. Method . Data from sweeps of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) were used. The study sample was those cohort members with complete information on all the variables of interest. The study sample (N = 3,285) was more educated and less disadvantaged than the whole sample. If cohort members of this type are more likely to have a mother who has high expectations, then our results are biased downwards, which suggests that we underestimate the effect of expectations on our two outcome variables. Results . Mothers' expectations at the age of 10 were positively related to daughters' sense of control at the age of 30 even after controlling for ethnicity, educational attainment, and concurrent partner, parent, and labour market participation status, as well as the following confounding variables (measured at the ages of 0–10): general ability and general ability squared, locus of control, emotional and behavioural problems and emotional and behavioural problems squared, socio‐economic disadvantage, parental social class, parental family structure, and mothers' education, child‐rearing attitudes, and mental health. Mothers' expectations had no effect on sons' adult outcomes. Conclusions . Given that women are particularly at risk for poor psychological and economic outcomes in adulthood, and that this study likely underestimated the effect of expectations on these two outcomes, this is an important conclusion.     

Intelligence as a predictor of social mobility in Estonia

The purpose of this study was to explore how individual and environmental predictors of intergenerational social mobility intersect in rarely studied post‐communist developing society of Estonia. We used a contemporary cross‐sectional dataset (n = 759) to assess the influence of cognitive ability and parental socioeconomic status to the participants’ educational and occupational attainment. Our results indicated that cognitive ability and one's own educational level mediated the association of parental socioeconomic status with one's own occupational success. Analysis of separate components of cognitive ability indicated that verbal ability had the highest influence on occupational status. We concluded that both individual‐level and environmental factors have a predictive effect on educational and occupational attainment.     

Late adolescent perceptions of parent religiosity and parenting processes

The current investigation examined the relations between adolescent reports of parent religiosity and parenting processes, using both a dimensional and a typological conceptualization of parenting. Self-report data were collected from 357 late adolescents. Partial correlations indicated that parent religiosity was associated with both parenting dimensions and parenting styles in conceptually expected directions. Regression analyses provided evidence that the dimensional conceptualization of parenting explained additional variability in perceived parental religiosity above and beyond parenting style effects. Findings suggest that a dimensional conceptualization of parenting processes extends the literature on parent religiosity because it yields more nuanced information about how parental religiosity may be related to differentiated parenting behaviors. Potential therapeutic implications of the findings are discussed.     

A longitudinal investigation of social causation and social selection processes involved in the association between socioeconomic status and psychiatric disorders.

Social causation theory and social selection theory have been put forth to explain the finding that low socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with risk for psychiatric disorders. The predictions of both theories were investigated using data from a community-based longitudinal study. Psychosocial interviews were administered to 736 families from 2 counties in New York State in 1975, 1983, 1985-1986, and 1991-1993. Results indicated that (a) low family SES was associated with risk for offspring anxiety, depressive, disruptive, and personality disorders after offspring IQ and parental psychopathology were controlled, and (b) offspring disruptive and substance use disorders were associated with risk for poor educational attainment after offspring IQ and parental psychopathology were controlled. These findings indicate that social causation and social selection processes vary in importance among different categories of psychiatric disorders.     

Parent‐offspring conflict in Japan and parental influence across six cultures

Previous research has demonstrated that parents and children often have conflicting mate preferences. The present research was conducted among 443 Japanese university students. Using an existing scale designed to uncover parent‐offspring conflict over mate choice, the results revealed that children perceived having a potential partner with traits connoting poor genetic quality as being more unacceptable to themselves, and having a potential partner with traits connoting low parental investment and cooperation with the ingroup as being more unacceptable to their parent. A number of sex differences emerged. The highest potential for parent‐offspring conflict existed between female offspring and their father, and female offspring also rated traits connoting low social status as being more unacceptable to their parents, particularly to the father.     

Career success: The role of teenage career aspirations,ambition value and gender in predicting adult social status and earnings

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Drawing on data from an 18-year British follow up study we tested a path model linking family background factors (such as family social status and parental aspirations) and individual agency factors in adolescence (in particular, career aspirations and ambition value) to social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. The findings suggest that ambition value is linked to adult earnings. That is, young people for whom it is important to get on in their job earn more money in adulthood than their less ambitious peers. The findings also confirm that teenage career aspirations are linked to adult social status attainment, and suggest that family background factors, teenage career aspirations and ambition value interact to influence social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Gender differences are discussed.     

Career success: The role of teenage career aspirations,ambition value and gender in predicting adult social status and earnings

Links between family social background, teenage career aspirations, educational performance and adult social status attainment are well documented. Using a contextual developmental framework, this article extends previous research by examining the role of gender and teenage ambition value in shaping social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Drawing on data from an 18-year British follow up study we tested a path model linking family background factors (such as family social status and parental aspirations) and individual agency factors in adolescence (in particular, career aspirations and ambition value) to social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. The findings suggest that ambition value is linked to adult earnings. That is, young people for whom it is important to get on in their job earn more money in adulthood than their less ambitious peers. The findings also confirm that teenage career aspirations are linked to adult social status attainment, and suggest that family background factors, teenage career aspirations and ambition value interact to influence social status attainment and earnings in adulthood. Gender differences are discussed.     

Parental marital conflict and divorce,parent‐child relationships,social support,and relationship anxiety in young adulthood

Based on research documenting harmful long‐term consequences of parental conflict and divorce for offspring, relations between recollections of parental conflict, parental divorce, and social outcomes in young adulthood were examined. A total sample of 566 young adults from divorced and intact families completed measures of parental conflict, quality of parent–adult child relationships, anxiety in relationships with others, and perceptions of social support from others. As hypothesized, divorce and conflict had significant independent effects on outcomes in young adulthood. Effects of conflict were uniformly negative for quality of parent‐child relationships, perceived social support from others, and anxiety in personal relationships. Parental divorce was associated with lower quality father‐child relationships, yet divorce was associated with significant positive outcomes for quality of mother‐child relationships, social support, independence facilitated by both parents, and reduced anxiety in relationships. Importantly, these effects occurred regardless of participant sex, parental remarriage, and parental socioeconomic status.     

Childhood cognitive ability,education, and personality traits predict attainment in adult occupational prestige over 17 years

This study explored a longitudinal data set of nearly 5000 adults examining the effects of childhood cognitive ability (measured at age 11), parental social class (measured at birth), and personality on current occupational prestige (all measured at age 50), taking account the effects of education and the previous occupational levels (both measured at age 33). Participants' levels of occupational attainment significantly went up from age 33 to age 50. Correlational analysis showed childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, education and occupation, and personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, emotional stability) were all significantly associated with current occupational prestige. The strongest correlates of current occupational levels were educational qualifications, followed by childhood cognitive ability, parental social class, and personality traits. Structural equation modelling showed that for the change of occupation over 17 years, the strongest predictor was education, followed by childhood intelligence. Personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness) had modest but significant influence in the upgrading of occupational attainment over the period of time, and parental social status predicted occupational change mediated through education and initial occupational levels. Education and childhood intelligence are more powerful predictors of current occupational prestige than personality factors or family social background. The implications for policy making and equal opportunities for education are discussed.     

Developmental Transitions in Youth Behavioral Opposition and Maternal Beliefs in Social Ecological Context

We investigated age-based changes in mothers’ complaints about offspring behavioral opposition, and offspring reports of opposition in a prospective longitudinal design (N = 821). Maternal complaints declined from pre-adolescence to early adulthood, but more slowly in low socioeconomic status (SES) and single-parent families. Mothers complained more about first- than later-born children, but showed no average differences for offspring gender, race, SES, or single parent status. Complaints covaried with youth-reported opposition, but effects involving SES, single-parent status, and birth order remained significant after opposition was controlled; this finding is interpreted to reflect social contextual differences in maternal beliefs. Youth opposition was stable to age 16, then decreased; higher levels were associated with earlier birth order and low SES among European-Americans. Our results have implications for parenting interventions, indicating that parents may benefit from education about the normative, gradual increase in concordance between their own expectations and their child’s behavior from early to late adolescence. Further, parenting interventions may be strengthened by actively attending to social contextual factors that shape parental belief systems and values.     

Childhood intelligence,locus of control and behaviour disturbance as determinants of intergenerational social mobility: British Cohort Study 1970

Determinants of intergenerational social mobility were examined in 8287 men from the British Cohort Study 1970. Confirming previous research, parental social class, childhood intelligence, and educational qualifications were the strongest predictors of occupational social class at the age of 30. Locus of control and childhood behaviour disturbance had independent significant effects and accounted for additional amounts of variance. Self-esteem had only a trivial influence on social mobility. Structural equation modelling using full information maximum likelihood estimation demonstrated that: educational qualifications mediated other predictors' effects, accounting for the greatest amount of variance in people's own social status attainment; there was a substantial overlap of childhood behavioural disturbance, intelligence, and locus of control; there were effects of parental social class on own occupational social class attainment. Intergenerational social mobility is determined by a nexus of inter-correlated variables whose independent effects remain difficult to disentangle.     

Exploring intergenerational patterns of infidelity

Three studies explored how parental infidelity is related to offspring's infidelity behavior and used social learning theory to test potential mechanisms. In Study 1, parental infidelity was positively associated with offspring infidelity; trust and relationship self‐efficacy did not mediate the association. In Study 2, infidelity was associated with parental infidelity and more positive infidelity beliefs. In Study 3, parental infidelity was positively associated with offspring infidelity. Study 3 revealed that parental infidelity is associated with offspring reports of receiving negative messages about fidelity and positive messages about infidelity from their family of origin. These communications are linked to more positive and accepting infidelity beliefs. The results of these studies support the conclusion that parent infidelity is associated with an individual's own infidelity.     

The middle schooling process: influences on science and mathematics achievement from the longitudinal study of American youth

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to develop and test a model of middle school science and mathematics achievement with a national probability sample of 3,116 seventh-grade public school students. Eighth-grade achievement was viewed as a function of readiness attributes on entry into seventh grade and intervening parent, peer, self, and classroom affective and behavioral measures. Data were collected from students and parents over three time periods in seventh and eighth grade. Results of a revised structural model showed that prior achievement in science and math was a strong mediator of effects in the process of schooling. Grades in sixth grade, parental expectations, parent educational attainment, and motivation had moderately strong indirect effects on eighth-grade achievements. Also notable was the positive direct influence of perceptions of classroom context on science and math achievement growth and the negative direct influence of sex (in favor of girls) on science achievement growth. Cross-validation on a split-half sample did not disconfirm the model. It was concluded that while prior achievement had a dominant influence in the schooling process, other variables including parental expectations, motivation, and classroom context do contribute to the schooling process and can be a focal point for improving school success. These and other factors, though helpful, may be most effective well before the middle school years.     

Academic Self-concept and Educational Attainment Level: A Ten-year Longitudinal Study

The purpose of this study was to test children's academic self-concept, family socioeconomic status, family structure (single parent vs. two parent family) and academic achievement in elementary school as predictors of children's educational attainment level in young adulthood within a ten-year longitudinal design. Participants (254 girls, 211 boys) were three cohorts of students in Grades 3, 4, and 5 from ten elementary schools. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that academic self-concept predicted educational attainment level ten years later over and above prior achievement. Moreover, this pattern of results was invariant across cohorts. In addition, regression analyses based on a restricted sample (n?=?243) indicated that the academic self-concept/educational attainment level relation was still significant while controlling for family SES, family structure (single parent vs. two parent family), and academic achievement. Discussion focuses on the theoretical and practical implications of the results.     

Attitudes Toward Divorce: Embeddedness and Outcomes in Personal Relationships

Divorce attitudes, attitude embeddedness, parental marital status and conflict, and personal relationship outcomes were examined in a sample of 289 undergraduate students. Results indicated that highly embedded divorce attitudes were more predictive of evaluations of divorce issues and relationship scenarios than were less embedded attitudes. Consistent with findings that divorce attitudes influence personal relationships ( Amato & DeBoer, 2001 ), participants with embedded divorce attitudes reported greater conflict and influence of relationship partners. Recollections of high parental conflict were associated with greater relationship conflict; and individuals from high-conflict intact families reported greater relationship closeness, conflict, and embedded divorce attitudes. Consequences of parental divorce and conflict for offspring divorce attitudes are discussed, as well as future research on divorce attitudes and their strength.     

Mom Matters: Maternal Influence on the Choice of Academic Major

Using High School and Beyond data and multinomial logit modeling, this analysis explores the parental impact on a student's choice of academic major. Family measures that have traditionally been used in status attainment models have focused primarily on father. This analysis includes measures for both the mother and the father to gauge their individual impact. Results indicate that mothers influence students' choice of academic major most readily through emotional and normative channels. In addition, mothers generally encourage the pursuit of nontechnical majors, whereas fathers encourage the pursuit of technical majors. The implications of this analysis are that mothers ought to be included more systematicly in status attainment models.     

Parental Socialization in Childhood and Offspring Materialist and Postmaterialist Values in Adult Life1

This study used data from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS) to examine the role of parental socialization in offspring materialist and postmaterialist values in adult life. It was found that for both genders, educational attainment was positively associated with postmaterialist values. Poor relations with father in adolescence and absence of partner in adult life predicted postmaterialist values in women, and religiosity and absence of financial difficulties in childhood predicted materialist values in men.     

Intergenerational class mobility in Britain: A comparative look across three generations in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 sample is in a uniquely good position to provide relevant data on social class mobility patterns over most of the last century. These participants, with known ultimate social class attainment, took a validated mental test in the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947 and were followed up at approximately age 70. Then, besides their own age 11 mental ability data and educational and occupational attainment, they reported educational and occupational data on their parents and offspring. We constructed structural equation models of participant and offspring social class attainment and odds of social class movement, and compared results with those from the similarly recruited and assessed Lothian Birth Cohort 1921. In the 1936 cohort, relative transmission of social class from one generation to the next decreased, while relative transmission of educational attainment increased. In addition, effects of childhood IQ and educational attainment on social class decreased, apparently due to relative decrease in overall upward mobility and absolute increase in overall education level.     

Perceived Collective Efficacy and Parenting Competence: The Roles of Quality of Life and Hope

Parents' perceptions of their parenting competence predict successful implementation of parenting tasks and contribute to their interest and involvement in parenting and to their children's development. Thus, identifying factors that contribute to parents' perceptions of parenting competence can help inform efforts to promote children's safety and well-being. The present study employs social disorganization theory to examine the relationship between collective efficacy and parents' sense of competence, measured along two dimensions: parental efficacy and parental satisfaction. It examines the direct association between the two constructs and whether the association is mediated by parent perceptions of their quality of life (QOL) and sense of hope. Data were collected from 198 parents residing in a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, Israel. The analyses indicated that high collective efficacy was directly associated with high parental efficacy, but not with high parental satisfaction. Using structural equation modeling, a mediation model was found whereby higher collective efficacy was associated with (a) higher QOL, which in turn was related to a greater sense of hope, which was linked with higher parental efficacy; and (b) higher QOL, which was directly associated with higher parental satisfaction. The findings provide further support to the idea that neighborhood characteristics play an important role in parents' ability to care for their children.