Parenting Styles in a Cultural Context: Observations of "Protective Parenting" in First-Generation Latinos

Current literature presents four primary parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. These styles provide an important shortcut for a constellation of parenting behaviors that have been characterized as consisting of warmth, demandingness, and autonomy granting. Empirically, only warmth and demandingness are typically measured. Research reporting on parenting styles in Latino samples has been equivocal leading to questions about conceptualization and measurement of parenting styles in this ethnic/cultural group. This lack of consensus may result from the chasm between concepts (e.g., authoritarian parenting) and observable parenting behaviors (e.g., warmth) in this ethnic group. The present research aimed to examine parenting styles and dimensions in a sample of Latino parents using the two usual dimensions (warmth, demandingness) and adding autonomy granting. Traditional parenting styles categories were examined, as well as additional categorizations that resulted from adding autonomy granting. Fifty first-generation Latino parents and their child (aged 4–9) participated. Parent–child interactions were coded with the Parenting Style Observation Rating Scale (P-SOS). In this sample, the four traditional parenting categories did not capture Latino families well. The combination of characteristics resulted in eight possible parenting styles. Our data showed the majority (61%) of Latino parents as "protective parents." Further, while mothers and fathers were similar in their parenting styles, expectations were different for male and female children. The additional dimensions and implications are discussed. The importance of considering the cultural context in understanding parenting in Latino families is emphasized, along with directions for future research.     

Understanding associations among family support,friend support,and psychological distress

Emotional support from family and friends is associated with lower psychological distress. This study examined whether genetic and environmental influences explain associations among family support, friend support, and psychological distress. Data were drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) study and included 947 pairs of monozygotic (MZ), same‐sex dizygotic (DZ), and opposite‐sex DZ twins. Results showed that a genetic factor explains the relation between friend support and psychological distress, independent of family support. Alternatively, a nonshared environmental factor accounts for an association between family support, friend support, and psychological distress. Thus, heritable factors shape a distinct relation between friend support and psychological distress, but unique experiences contribute to a link between family support, friend support, and psychological distress.     

Dependency and insecurity in romantic relationships: Development and validation of two companion scales

This article presents self-report scales for the assessment of perceived dependency and insecurity in a romantic relationship. These scales were originally developed many years ago (Fei & Berscheid, 1977) but were never published. The process of original scale development is summarized, and results from five studies (total N= 1,283; including data from the original Fei & Berscheid studies) are presented showing evidence for (a) scale reliability and validity; (b) the association between dependency and insecurity and the relationship conditions that moderate this association; (c) the association of dependency and insecurity with other theoretically relevant dimensions of close relationships; and (d) dyadic-level issues of partner similarity and correlates of discrepancies in levels of dependency and insecurity. The results indicate that the two scales are reliable, valid, and associated with many other relationship constructs (e.g., commitment, love, closeness, and attachment).     

Two sides to the breakup of dating relationships

Very few studies on the aftermath of relationship breakups have included data from both ex-partners. The major purpose of this study was to examine whether there is any validity to the principle that there are two sides to every breakup. Questionnaire data were collected from both partners of 47 heterosexual, dating couples after they experienced the breakup of their relationship. Their emotional reactions, perceptions of who had control over the breakup, and perceptions of reasons for the breakup were analyzed. Results indicated that there was no association between ex-partners in the level of distress experienced after the breakup. Ex-partners agreed about who had control and who was responsible for the breakup and about some of the specific reasons for the breakup. Fewer gender differences were found in this study than have been found in previous research on dating relationship breakups (e.g., Hill, Rubin, & Peplau, 1976). For example, men and women were similar in the overall distress they experienced after the breakup and in the reasons they gave for the breakup. Women were more likely than men to be seen as the initiator of the breakup, but only by women themselves. Additional analyses indicated that perceptions of control and the reasons for the breakup were related to emotional reactions after the breakup.     

Black Women's Career Aspirations

A 2-page questionnaire dealing with career aspirations and expectations was administered to undergraduates at four institutions, of which two were women's colleges and two were universities. Results suggest that Black women as a group predict that they will be earning less than Black males; white women as a group predict that they will be earning less than white men but the pay gap is narrower. While some employers may believe that Black women enjoy a special advantage in the job market, students who are Black and female do not, it seems, share that optimism.     

Social cliques as mental models

The present research investigates how a mental model derived from patterns of sentiment relations (mental clique model) interacts with social background information (membership in social categories). Testing memory for a set of sentiment relations, the data support the assumption that a strongly polarizing categorization interferes with a mental clique model derived from the learning of these sentiment relations. Such interference was claimed to occur whenever sentiment implications from the social categorization would contradict information contained in the mental clique model. In line with this reasoning, balanced triads were selectively impaired in memory as opposed to relations from unbalanced triads which did not allow construction of any clique model and which were not influenced by category interference.     

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Religious Involvement in a Multi-Ethnic Cohort of Midlife Women

We examined racial/ethnic differences in five measures of religious involvement (worship attendance, religious social support, importance of faith, comfort from religion, and frequency of prayer or meditation) among 2,690 women, age 42–52 years, participating in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). The women reported five racial/ethnic identifications: white, African American, Hispanic, Japanese, and Chinese. A large proportion of the Asian and Hispanic women were born outside the United States (Japanese 48 percent, Chinese 69.5 percent, Hispanic 89.1 percent). African-American and Hispanic women reported the highest levels of religious involvement. White and Japanese women reported similar levels of involvement for four measures. Compared to the white women, the Chinese women reported similar levels of worship attendance and religious social support, but lower levels for the other three measures. These racial/ethnic differences were not explained by differences in religious preference, acculturation, or sociodemographic factors. With the exception of worship attendance, in adjusted models, measures of acculturation were not significantly associated with religious involvement .