Psychische Störungen und Behandlung

College Students’ Attitudes towards Traditional and Nontraditional Parenting Roles: A Replication and Extension

Abstract

Lauren Berger, Nava Caluori, Maya Pintar, Samuel Sinemus, Lindsay Conley, Shahwar Salahuddin and Juliana Genovese

The present study assessed the attitudes of 262 college students’ attitudes toward different parenting styles by replicating and extending. It was hypothesized that traditional parents (i.e., working father, stay at home mother) would be viewed more positively than nontraditional parents (i.e., working mother, stay at home father). Results showed a non-significant interaction two-way ANOVA, F (1,258)=3.413, p=0.066. However, a significant main effect for employment status was found; partially supporting our hypothesis. Thus, regardless of the parent gender, participants viewed the employed parents as more positive than the stay at home parents. The most positive attitudes across all four vignettes were towards the working mother and the least positive were towards the stay-at-home mother. These findings are unexpected, different than the findings of; study replicated in the present study, and have important implications. Limitations, strengths, and future research are discussed.