Intergenerational transmission of parenting style

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the intergenerational transmission of parenting styles, particularly maternal parenting styles, transmitted from the grandmothers onto mothers. The sample consisted of thirty-one mother-child dyads who were involved in counselling at eight local social-service agencies. The main variable used in this study was the measure of maternal parenting styles, which was based on a four-fold typology of authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent and neglecting styles. Other variables were employed in this study to examine their effects on the transmission. They were: paternal involvement, as perceived separately by both mothers and teenagers, perceived grandmother's effectiveness and perceived grandfather's involvement in the parenting of the mothers, as well as demographic variables like maternal employment, maternal educational level and the family's socio-economics status.