Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This pilot study examined the differences between parenting styles of parents with gifted adolescents and non-labeled adolescents. Comparisons were made between parents of gifted and parents of non-labeled to examine if there are differences between the ways that these parents communicate with their children. Analysis revealed that parents of the gifted were more likely to verbally admonish their children, have a greater knowledge of school activities, and report that their children disclose more information to them than the parents of non-labeled children. Discussion focuses on specific characteristics of the gifted that may be responsible for these findings as well as the need for future studies examining differences between parent-child communications of gifted children.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Children of incarcerated parents are often discussed as if they and their parents are a homogenous group except for differences in parents' gender and where children are living while their parents are serving time. Moreover, differences in parents' overall criminal careers are seldom taken into account when talking about children of incarcerated parents. As a consequence, interventions are being developed that do not come into play until parents are at the "deep end" of the criminal justice system and which take a "one size fits all" approach to addressing children's needs. This presentation uses data from several large-scale studies of representative samples of youth to describe: (1) differences in the needs of various subgroups of children of incarcerated parents, and (2) how differences in parents' criminal careers are related to different service needs. Data will also be presented comparing children of probationers and children of incarcerated parents that show that children of probationers are as "at risk" as children of incarcerated parents. The implications for intervention development are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The various forms of parental responsibility laws either hold parents civilly liable or criminally responsible for the illegal activities of their children. While general public support of these laws has been examined (Brank & Weisz, 2004), the current research examines public support in relation to parental status of the respondent. A national phone survey of approximately 1000 respondents asked about parental responsibility, parental blame, and parental punishment. Results indicate that parents and non-parents are not significantly different on opinions of these three notions; however, parents of children who had some kind of police contact were less likely to support. The results are discussed in terms of self-interest theory.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Activities, like child beauty pageants and enrichment learning classes, have attracted a great deal of media attention, usually depicted as examples of parental exploitation and self-fulfillment. What is not often portrayed is the self-sacrifice on the part of the parents and the discipline required of the children. This paper explores the question of why parents enroll their children in these activities, based on evidence from four years of fieldwork and in-depth interviews (n=68). The selection of these two groups of parents for study may seem surprising given the presumably vast differences between parents who enroll their children in beauty pageants and those who enroll their children in enrichment courses. But, as I will show, these parents are not entirely different, especially because their underlying motivations are the same, which are to teach their children how to succeed in an increasingly competitive, hierarchical, adult society. Most importantly though, I identify a parental worldview based on the socialization model of Melvin Kohn that stresses the importance of particular skills that parents believe children need to acquire in order to attain personal and professional success. In the end I suggest a typology of organized children’s activities to help guide further research.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Parental satisfaction has important implications for parents’ psychological and physical wellbeing and for their treatment of their children. However, scant research has been devoted to understanding the factors that predict satisfaction in the parent role, particularly among parents with adolescent children. Drawing on identity theory, and using a nationally representative dataset of U.S. adolescents, this paper addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between parental satisfaction and parents’ perceptions of their adolescents’ behavioral and value-laden characteristics, taking into account parental resources. The results suggest that parents’ perceptions of their adolescents’ more global characteristics--including trustworthiness, understandability, temper, and quality of life—mediates the relationship between parental satisfaction and parents’ perceptions of their adolescents’ (problem) behaviors, including their use of illicit substances, getting expelled from school, and engaging in delinquency. For the most part, parental resources do not moderate the relationship between parents’ perceptions of their children’s problem-behaviors and parental satisfaction. The implications of these findings for an identity theory perspective on role-based satisfaction are discussed.