Socialization and themes in popular drama: An analysis of the content of child-rearing manuals and Don Juan plays in sixteenth to twentieth centuries

A content analysis is reported of child-rearing manuals published in sixteenth to nineteenth centuries and of the themes of the Don Juan plays in seventeenth to twentieth centuries. The relationship between the content of the manuals and the themes of the plays supports the thesis that child-rearing patterns advocated in one century are reflected in the next in the attitudes expressed in popular cultural activities towards aggression, achievement and sex roles.