RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF MOTHERS AND FATHERS TO ADOLESCENTSâ VALUES IN ROMANIAN FAMILIES

Written by Mihaela FRIEDLMEIER, Wolfgang FRIEDLMEIER on 30 June 2012. Posted in Special issue: Individual Development And Family Relations In Eastern Europe, Guest Editors: Mihaela FRIEDLMEIER, Wolfgang FRIEDLMEIER, Volume XVI, Nr. 2

ABSTRACT

The main goal of this study was to investigate parent-adolescent value similarities in a Romanian sample by taking the relative importance of mothersâ and of fathersâ parenting style into account. More abstract values were studied here, namely individualism and collectivism as well as independence and interdependence. Some theoretical approaches argue for differential effects of fathers and mothers on childrenâs values, but the results are inconsistent. Dominance Analysis (Azen & Budescu, 2003) was used as methodological procedure, a strategy that allows identifying the most consistent predictor model across all possible subset models within regression analysis. Standardized separate interviews were conducted with mothers and fathers whereas the adolescents filled out the questionnaire in the classrooms (N = 100 families). Parent-adolescent value similarities were found for collectivism only. Parenting contributes stronger to adolescentsâ values (collectivism and interdependence) than parental values themselves. Overall, the contributions of fathersâ parenting variables dominated the contributions of mothers to both daughtersâ and sonsâ values, providing thus weak evidence for the gender role models of socialization theory.

KEYWORDS: similarities, Romania, parenting, dominance analysis

PAGES:239-264