Moderator role of sex in rearing practices

Abstract

The objective of the study was to analyze possible differences with regard to different rearing behaviors expressed by fathers and mothers on the socialization of sons and daughters during late adolescence and young adulthood. Participants were 193 students from the University of Granada, 149 of them being women and 44 men. They completed the Questionnaire on Rearing Practices (Supple, Peterson Bush, 2004), which assesses six dimensions of parenting, regarding the father and the mother: Support, Positive Induction, Monitoring (Behavioral Control), Autonomy Granting, Punitiveness and Love Withdrawal. Results indicate that sons and daughters perceived a different parenting style by the father, but only in two of the dimensions evaluated (Positive Induction and Punitiveness). However, they did not perceived in a different way maternal parenting (only Love withdrawal approached the significance). With regard to the possible differences in parenting behaviors by foster parents, mothers performed higher levels of Induction, Monitoring and Support with both sons and daughters. The only dimension of parenting behavior in which father scores were higher than mother’s was Autonomy Granting with male children, but without reaching the statistical significance. Finally, regarding to the use of inappropriate methods of discipline, mothers showed a greater level of Punitiveness with daughters than fathers, while in the case of the male children mothers also scored significantly higher than parents on Love withdrawal.

Keywords

• padres
• madres
• prácticas de crianza
• diferencias sexuales