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A Multiple Investigation Of Child-Rearing Attitudes

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A Multiple Investigation Of Child-Rearing Attitudes

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Xerox University Microfilms
300 North Zeeb Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106
r
n
I 1
s
74-28,443
KELLERMAN, Jonathan Seth, 1949-
A MULTIPLE INVESTIGATION OF CHILD-REARING ATTITUDES.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1974
Psychology, clinical
University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Copyright by-
Jonathan Seth Kellerman
© 197k
THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED.
A MULTIPLE INVESTIGATION OF CHILD-REARING
ATTITUDES
by
Jonathan Seth Kellerman
A D isse rtatio n Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In P a rtia l F u lfillm e n t o f the
Requirements fo r the Degree
DOCTOR O F PHILOSOPHY
(Psychology)
June 197^
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA 9 0007
This dissertation, written by
Jonathan Seth Kellerman
under the direction of h Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by a ll its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Graduate
School, in partial fulfillment of requirements of
the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H IL O S O P H Y
w Dean
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
Chairman
DEDICATION
This d is s e rta tio n is dedicated to two women o f
v a lo r, my w ife , Faye, and my mother, S ylvia fo r th e ir
constant love, support, encouragement, and good humor.
i i
ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank my chairman, Dr. A lb e rt Marston, the members of. my
committee, Drs. Richard Brown and James Kahan, and the other members o f
my guidance committee, Drs. Stephen Berger and Joseph P r u itt fo r th e ir
advice, support and encouragement during the course o f my doctoral
stu d ie s.
I am indebted to Mr. Ernest Katz fo r his help in the c o lle c tio n ,
coding, and analysis o f the data as w e ll as fo r his c re a tiv e and help
fu l suggestions. Mrs. Brenda K is h in e ff provided invaluable assistance
in o b ta in in g subjects and to her, as w ell as to the parents and mental
health trainees who so g ra cio u sly served as volun tary subjects, I o ffe r
special thanks.
No words can express my g ra titu d e to my mother, Mrs. Sylvia K e lle r
man who typed, and aided in the e d itin g and preparation o f th is manu
s c r ip t. Her good-natured p a rtic ip a tio n in what proved to be a tim e-
consuming and rigorous process was a primary fa c to r in c o n trib u tin g
toward its successful com pletion. I would lik e to thank her and my
fa th e r, Mr. David Kellerman, fo r t h e ir encouragement during my years of
schooling, and fo r t h e ir nurturance o f an atmosphere o f in te lle c tu a l
c u r io s ity and growth.
My loving w ife , Faye, has been unswerving in her dedication,
tenderness, support, and patience throughout our years o f marriage.
During the preparation o f th is d is s e rta tio n she was always there to
i i i
lend emotional support and to co n trib u te h e lp fu l, cre a tive suggestions.
For a ll o f t.his and fo r so much more, I o ffe r her my deepest thanks.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................... H i
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 1
I I . METHOD.......................................................... 32
I I I , RESULTS . .................................................................................. 37
i \l. DISCUSSION............................................................................. . 47
V. SUMMARY......................................................................................... 60
T a b le s .......................... 64
R e fe re n ce s......................................................................................................... 76
v
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In a previous study (Kellerman, 197*0 an attempt was made to
in ve stig a te the re la tio n s h ip between sex-role stereotypes and a ttitu d e s
about parental blame fo r various types o f psychological problems of
c h ild re n . I t was hypothesized th a t parental co n tro l over various
aspects o f c h ild re n 's behavior would be related to sex-role stereotypes
such as those th a t have been described by several authors (Kagan, 1964;
Lunneborg, 1970; Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson, and Rosen-
kra ntz, 1972). This a ttr ib u tio n o f parental c o n tro l, i t was hypo
thesized, would m anifest i t s e l f in the form o f d if fe r e n t ia l a ttr ib u tio n
o f maternal and paternal blame fo r various types o f psychological prob
lems when these problems were conceptualized as being disorders o f
s p e c ific , sex-related aspects o f the c h ild -re a rin g process.
The discussion o f the data from th is f i r s t study led to the
form ulation o f several new hypotheses, the in s t it u tio n o f methodologi
cal changes, and to the em pirical te s tin g o f these hypotheses and
changes. I t is th is experimental evaluation th a t comprises the method
o lo g ic a l section o f th is d is s e ra tio n . Before delving in to the area of
methodology and experimental re s u lts , however, i t is useful to examine
the various th e o re tic a l areas re la tin g to c h ild -re a rin g , re s p o n s ib ility ,
and blame th a t are p e rtin e n t to the study. This w ill serve to oper
a tio n a lly define term inology, to lay a psychological framework fo r
em pirical in v e s tig a tio n , and to allow fo r a conceptual framework w ith in
which methodology and re sults may be analyzed and evaluated. The f i r s t
such th e o re tic a l to p ic to be considered w il l be th a t o f ro le .th e o ry
(Sarbin, 195**; Sarbin and A lle n , 1968) and how i t relates to se x-ro le
norms, c h ild -re a rin g , and such terms as re s p o n s ib ility and blame.
Role Theory
W ithin a social psychological framework, a ro le is defined as a
conditioned response placed in a s e lf-o th e r, o r in te ra c tio n a l context.
Mediating between a social s tru c tu re and actual role behavior, are a
set o f c o g n itiv e varia bles c a lle d ro le e xpecta tions. These expecta
tio n s are a ttrib u te s and q u a litie s as opposed to ro le s , which are
actual behaviors (Sarbin, 195*0.
The role theory model sets up the fo llo w in g conceptual process:
Norms, a ris in g out o f the in te ra c tio n between the in d ivid u a l (the s e lf)
and the social stru c tu re w ith in which the in d ivid u a l fu n ctio n s, lead
to the development and evolutio n o f sets o f cognitio ns invo lvin g a t t r i
butions and expectations o f behavior from the in d iv id u a l. These sets
o f cognitions, o r role expectations, lead to the performance o f s p e c ific
behaviors o r sets o f behaviors c a lle d ro le s . Roles may be dichotomized
and dimensionalized using a v a rie ty o f c r it e r ia . Thus, age, social
cla ss, sex, occupation, physical appearance, in te llig e n c e , and e th n i
c it y may a ll be u tiliz e d to con struct sets o f ro le expectations and
ro le s. I t is w ith roles re la tin g to sex, o r s e x -ro le s . th a t the pres
ent d is s e rta tio n attempts to concern it s e lf .
3
Sex-Typing and Sex-Roles
The process o f sex-typing involves the a ttr ib u tio n o f d if fe r in g
c h a ra c te ris tic s to men and women. This leads to the fo rm u la tio n of
so cia l norms based upon sex diffe rences and to the establishm ent o f
se x-ro le exp ecta tion s, cognitions mediating between the so cia l system
and the se x-ro le behavior o f the in d iv id u a l.
Linton (1936) wrote: "The d iv is io n and a s c rip tio n o f statuses
w ith re la tio n to sex seems to be basic in a ll social systems. A ll
s o c ie tie s prescribe d iffe r e n t a ttitu d e s and a c tiv it ie s to men and to
women. '1
Kagan (1964) has described the social c o n d itio n in g processes
through which sex-typed c h a ra c te ris tic s are learned and incorporated
in to the value system o f the in d iv id u a l. I t is assumed th a t the c lu s
te r o f responses and a ttrib u te s th a t defines the standard, acquires its
d e s ir a b ility through three processes.
F ir s t , the in d ividu a l id e n tifie s w ith models who possess the
t r a i t s and c h a ra c te ris tic s typed as sex-appropriate. Thus, boys
id e n tify w ith th e ir fa the rs and g ir ls id e n tify w ith th e ir mothers and
through th is process o f id e n tific a tio n sex-typing is perpetuated.
Secondly, operant co n ditio n in g in the form o f so cia l re in fo rc e
ment given fo r appropriate sex-role behavior is posited to be at work.
Here, a ffe c tio n and acceptance is given contingent upon the possession
o f the s o c ia lly desirable c lu s te r of t r a i t s .
T h ird , i t is hypothesized th a t a c q u is itio n of the d e sira b le
c lu s te r o f se x-role t r a it s w il l be given negative reinforcem ent proper
tie s in th a t i t w il l tend to prevent social punishment. Thus, here
too, operant co n d itio n in g is seen as working in the form o f avoidance
learning.
Kagan (196*0 divid e s the core a ttrib u te s o f m a scu lin ity and
fe m in in ity in to three main areas: physical a ttr ib u te s , overt behaviors,
and covert a ttrib u te s such as fe e lin g s , a ttitu d e s , m otives, and b e lie fs .
Several studies have shown th a t the physical a ttrib u te s regarded as
id e a lly male in our so cie ty include heigh t, large muscle mass, fa c ia l
and body h a ir and physical stren gth . Those judged to be id e a lly female
or fem inine include small body s iz e , a ttr a c tiv e face, h a irle s s face and
body, and moderately sized breasts (Cobb, 195*+; Nash, 1958; H arris,
1959).
With re la tio n to the core a ttrib u te s of m a scu lin ity and fe m in in ity
as i t is represented in norms o f overt behavior, several authors, (Dawe,
1934; Kagan, 1956; Maccoby and W ilson, 1957; Kagan and Lemkin, I960;
Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1961; Kagan, Hosken and Watson, 1961; Bandura,
1962) found th a t o ve rt d isp la y o f both verbal and physical aggression
is perm itted more fo r males than i t is fo r females.
On the other hand, the co rrela te d t r i o o f dependency, p a s s iv ity ,
and conform ity is seen as more a p pro p ria tely fem inine (C ru tc h fie ld ,
1955; Hovland and Janis, 1959; McCandless, Bilous and Bennett, 1961;
Kagan and Moss, 1962). In a d d itio n , a f f i 1ia tiv e and n u rtu ra n t behavior
are both g e n e ra lly regarded as more appropriate fo r females than fo r
males (Terman and M ile s, 1936; H ild re th , 1945; Goodenough, 1957).
Kagan.(1964) sums up the c lu s te r o f sex-typed a ttrib u te s : " . . .
females are supposed to in h ib it aggression and open d isp la y o f sexual
urges, to be passive w ith men, to be nurtu rant to Others, to c u ltiv a te
a ttra c tiv e n e s s , and to m aintain an a ffe c tiv e , s o c ia lly poised, and
frie n d ly posture w ith others. Males are urged to be aggressive in face
of a tta c k , independent in problem s itu a tio n s , sexually aggressive, in
contro l of regressive urges, and suppressive of strong emotion, espec
ia lly a n x ie ty ."
The general p ic tu re presented here conforms to Parsons' (1955)
dichotomy o f masculine and feminine roles into instrumental versus
expressive. This dichotom ization is one instance o f ro le different?-?
at io n , in which d if fe r e n t ia l assignment o f role expectations and subse
quent role behavior is made contingent upon various c r it e r ia , in th is
case, sex.
T r a d itio n a lly , parental roles have been assigned w ith close a tte n
tio n paid to the expressive-instrum ental role d iffe r e n tia tio n . Mater
nal role expectations have been in terms o f nurturance, warmth, comfort
and support. These are a ll q u a litie s th a t have been labeled as f a llin g
on the expressive side o f the dimension.
Paternal ro le expectations have been in terms of in te lle c tu a l
tra in in g , guidance toward attainm ent o f concrete goals, and d is c ip lin e .
These a ll re la te to Parsons' dimension o f in s tru m e n ta lity . Thus, c le a r
d iffe re nce s have been proposed, between what co n stitu te s appropriate
maternal and paternal behavior, based upon a role d iffe r e n tia tio n in
terms o f sex.
F itt in g th is in to S arbin's (195*0 model, we fin d thei.establ ishment
of so cie ta l norms about d iffe re nce s between men and women, o r what
Kagan (196*0 c a lls sex-typing. U tiliz in g information from these norms,
there develop a set o f ro le -e xp ecta tion s, or cognitions re la tin g to sex-
appropriate behavior. These are what Kagan (1964) c a lls overt a t t r i
butes. These ro le expectations mediate between the socie tal norms and
the role behavior o f the in d iv id u a l, or what Kagan (1964) c a lls overt
a ttrib u te s .
In a d d itio n , norms based upon sex-typing are ca rrie d over to the
general area of parenting and fu rth e r ro le d iffe r e n tia tio n w ith regard
to appropriate maternal and paternal behavior is established. Thus,
role d iffe r e n tia tio n , in terms o f sex, becomes a major source o f norms,
role expectations and ro le behavior as they re la te to the process o f
c h ild -re a rin g .
Kagan's (1964) d e s c rip tio n o f the co n d itio n in g processes underly
ing the a c q u is itio n o f a ttitu d e s and behavior th a t conform to so cie tal
norms does not go beyond th is to attempt to describe the o rig in a tin g
processes o f these norms themselves.
Let us examine the ro le expectations re la tin g to ideal masculin
it y and fe m in in ity : Males are expected to be independent, aggressive,
and a c tiv e , females to be passive, dependent, conforming and n u rtu ran t.
Each o f these dimensions may have thus, played a very r e a lis t ic , nec
essary pa rt in p r e - c iv i1ized human so cie ty. The male had to be aggres
sive , both p h y s c ia lly and v e rb a lly , and a c tiv e . His being away from
the home often meant th a t he had to be independent. His mate, on the
other hand, was expected to remain at home, to stay put, to n urture.
R e a lis tic a lly , a p rim itiv e woman was dependent upon her husband fo r
pro te ctio n and fo r food. She was the primary source o f physical
nurturance o f the c h ild , and her everyday behavior was, indeed, less
p h y s ic a lly a ctive and aggressive than her mate's.
Norms in vo lving the process o f c h ild -re a rin g have been most
c le a rly d iffe re n tia te d along the instrum ental-expressive dimension,
using sex as the main c r ite r io n . F ir s t , the general process o f c h ild -
rearing is seen as being more the re s p o n s ib ility o f the mother than the
fa th e r. Second, sex-typed a ttrib u te s re la tin g to what is d e sirab ly
masculine and fem inine, are stro n g ly related to the establishm ent of
norms dealing w ith ideal c h ra c te ris tic s o f male parents and female
parents, t h a t , is , w ith the process o f fa th e rin g and w ith the process of
mothering. Both o f these involve an a ttr ib u tio n o f re s p o n s ib ility ,
d if fe r e n t ia l re s p o n s ib ility based upon se x-role expectations. Let us
examine the operational d e fin itio n o f re s p o n s ib ility as a process o f
a ttr ib u tio n , and o f a subsequent a ttr ib u tio n , th a t o f blame w ith in the
context o f ro le theory.
R e s p o n s ib ility and Blame as Viewed by Role Theory
The notion o f re s p o n s ib ility may be seen as a set o f role
expectations in th a t i t involves a set of d ire c tiv e s to behave in a
c e rta in organized manner re la tin g to a set o f so cie tal norms.
The a ttr ib u tio n o f re s p o n s ib ility is made contingent upon so cie r-
ta l norms regarding the in d iv id u a l's competence, a b il i t y , and social
appropriateness as i t re la te s to the behavior o r set o f behaviors fo r
which re s p o n s ib ility is to be taken. The in d iv id u a l must be judged
capable o f performing the behavior or set o f behaviors on the most
elementary level befpre re s p o n s ib ility is assigned or a ttrib u te d .
Once the p re re q u isite s have been s a tis fie d , an a ttr ib u tio n o f respon
s i b i l i t y is made. This involves a set o f ro le expectations p e rta in in g
to the s p e c ific set o f behaviors involved. R e sp o n sib ility is related
to social norms, i t is in te ra c tio n a l, and co g n itiv e in nature.
Thus, an a ttr ib u tio n o f maternal re s p o n s ib ility may be made.
This involves a set o f co gnitio ns mediating between so cie ta l norms
re la tin g to the social p o s itio n o f mothers and m aternal-appropriate
ro le behavior. R e s p o n s ib ility involves an a ttr ib u tio n w ith regard to
a person, persons, or an in s t it u tio n to u t i li z e basic competence to
enact change or m aintain s t a b i li t y o f behavior, as i t re la tes to a set
o f norms.
Viewed w ith in the context o f ro le theory, the concept o f blame
may be seen as a s p e c ific type o f re s p o n s ib ility , th a t is , responsi
b i l i t y over fa u lty outcomes. To the extent th a t blame is perceived as
in stru m e n ta l. th a t is , to the extent to which an a ttr ib u tio n o f blame
is made based upon a d ire c tiv e to c o rre c t the e rro r, blame may be seen
as merely another type o f re s p o n s ib ility . Blame, in the instrumental
sense may be seen as a set o f ro le expectations contingent upon the
set o f ro le expectations re s u ltin g from the a ttr ib u tio n o f responsi
b i l i t y .
On the other hhnd, blame may be p u n itiv e . In th is case, blame
does not involve any such d ire c tiv e to re h a b ilita te , o r i f i t does,
th is is hot the primary component o f the a ttr ib u tio n o f blame. Puni
tiv e blame may be thought o f as social punishment fo r deviant role
enactment.
Whether blame is instrum ental or p u n itiv e , i t may be conceptu
a lize d as ly in g on a continuum, as p a rt o f an a ttr ib u tio n a l process.
The a ttr ib u tio n o f blame is contingent upon the a ttr ib u tio n o f respon
s i b i l i t y .
As i t re la tes to c h ild -re a rin g , the re sponsibl1ity-blam e process
would be expected to re la te to so cie ta l norms about sex-roles as those
roles re la te to the process o f c h ild -re a rin g . Since much of parenting,
e sp e cia lly th a t which occurs during the e a rly in fa n t and childhood
years, is conceptualized as in v o lv in g the process o f nurturance, and
since nurturance is typed as an id e a lly fem inine a ttr ib u te , i t is not
su rp risin g th a t mothers have ofte n been given more re s p o n s ib ility fo r
the process o f c h ild -re a rin g than have fa th e rs (Ackerman, 1957).
The psychoanalytic view point regards the mother as an irre p la c e
able fa c to r in c h ild -re a rin g , through the concept o f inborn drives and
needs th a t only the mother can provide, s p e c ific a lly basic b o d ily needs
such as suckling through breastfeeding ( Fenichel, 19^5; Blum, 1953).
Research on primates by Harlow and Zimmerman (1959) showed th a t the
essential fa c to r re la ted to infant-m other attachment fo r these primates
was not s u c k in g -s a tis fa c tio n , but ra the r contact-com fort. This fin d in g
might be viewed as supporting the notion o f the replaceabi1it y o f the
mother inasmuch as i t im plies a fa th e r's p o te n tia l a b il i t y to supply
such contact-com fort.
Besdine (1973) has noted th a t nurturance, although often equated
w ith mothering, might p o ssib ly be c a rrie d out by other fa m ily members
as w e l1.
Layman (1961) has pointed out th a t several studies which purport
to study c h ild -re a rin g have equated i t w ith mothering. This d iffe re n
t i a l importance a ttrib u te d to the m o th e rs ro le is supported by Nash's
(1965) review o f the lite r a tu r e on the fa th e r which found very few
studies o f an em pirical nature about the fa th e r. Most o f the studies
th a t Nash (1965) did fin d th a t discussed the fa th e r were o f a th e o re t
ical nature and most considered the paternal ro le only in re la tio n to
the maternal ro le .
Hines (1971) a ttrib u te d what she f e l t was a d is to rte d emphasis
upon m atriarchy to social changes which removed the fa th e r from the
home. Whereas in previous generations the fa th e r had worked on the
farm along w ith oth er fa m ily members, dispensing advice and punishment
in the ro le o f an "a u th o rita ria n foreman," the age o f in d u s tria liz a tio n
brought about rapid d e te rio ra tio n o f th is c le a r-c u t ro le . With the
advent o f in d u s tr ia liz a tio n , the fa th e r was no longer the breadwinner
in a lit e r a l sense, the fa m ily ceased to be the basic u n it of produc
tio n and the paternal ro le became less c le a rly defined.
The ro le expectation connected w ith the social p o s itio n "fa th e r"
became less c le a r according to Hines (1971). As c la r it y o f the per
ception o f a role decreases, so does p ro d u c tiv ity in terms of enact
ment o f th a t s p e c ific ro le (Smith, 1957). Furthermore, there is
evidence o f a lte rn a tiv e sources o f id e n tific a tio n fo r ch ild re n which
have increasingly come to take the fa th e r's place, p a r tic u la r ly
t e 1ev i s i on cha racte r s , (Nob1e , 1971).
The ro le of the mother, on the oth er hand, has been w e ll-
researched and thoroughly discussed. The maternal ro le is both more
c le a r and deemed more im portant than the paternal ro le . Perhaps the
two most frequent assumptions made concerning parental re s p o n s ib ility
are those described by Brim (1961); " F ir s t , one assumes th a t the
parent is a s ig n ific a n t fa c to r in in flu e n cin g the c h ild 's p e rs o n a lity ..
Second, examination w i l l reveal an assumption th a t the mother plays a
primary ro le in th is regard. This b e lie f in the greater importance o f
maternal influence is in tu rn based on the related assumption th a t
e a rly l i f e experiences are most in f lu e n tia l; since the mother is the
more s ig n ific a n t fig u re here, she has the greatest in flu e n c e ."
The importance o f the e a rly-m o th e r-ch ild re la tio n s h ip w ith regard
to the psychological w e ll-b e in g o f the c h ild was stressed by the work
o f Bowl by, Ainsworth, Boston and Rosenbluth (1956) on e a rly in fa n t
separation. Though these authors conceptualized the importance o f the
e a rly childhood period as being due to the development o f the c h ild 's
" f i r s t socia l re la tio n s h ip s - w ith h is p a re n ts," the research subse
quently conducted by them was not considered w ith in the context of
p a re n t-c h ild separation, but rather in terms o f mother c h ild separation.
Levy (1950) described the greater importance a ttrb iu te d to the
m other-child re la tio n s h ip than to the fa th e r-c h ild re la tio n s h ip as a
view which f i t w ith in the th e o re tic a l frameworks o f several, often
divergent schools o f thought.
According to the e a rly Watsonian b e h a vio rist school, in which
e a rly co n d itio n in g was believed to be the primary fo rce s e ttin g in to
motion the basic processes which determined la te r behavior p a tte rn s,
the mother played a major ro le in the co n ditio n in g process. Some
Watsonians viewed th is maternal importance as a pernicious influence
and sought to minimize its importance by p re scrib ing methods o f
reducing e a rly m a te rn a l-in fa n t contact (Levy, 1950).
S im ila rly , c la s s ic a l psychoanalytic theory which viewed the
12
Oedipal c o n flic t as the nucleus o f a ll human re la tio n s h ip s , regards
the maternal ro le in the determ ination o f patterns o f psychological
adjustment as the s in g le most im portant fa c to r. In a d d itio n , the
mother co n tro ls the in te n s ity , frequency, and co n fig u ra tio n o f e a rly
g r a tific a tio n and plays the major ro le In the pa tterning o f erotogenic i
zones.
Levy (1950) also described how Adler stressed the importance o f
the e a rly m oth er-child re la tio n s h ip . The mother could set the major
groundwork fo r la te r patterns o f need fo r power. In summing up these
va ryin g , yet la rg e ly s im ila r th e o re tic a l view points, Levy (1950) wrote:
"The Freudian baby, lik e the Watsonian baby, grows up in a world deter-;
mined la rg e ly by maternal lo v e ."
The common conceptual thread running through these th e o re tica l
and em pirical w ritin g s is th a t the maternal ro le Is the single most
im portant fa c to r re la ted to psychological w e ll-b e in g o f the c h ild .
Thus, what we are presented w ith is an a ttr ib u tio n o f a great deal o f
re s p o n s ib ility to mothers. This a ttr ib u tio n is made on the basis o f
b e lie fs about d iffe r e n tia l competence and uniqueness on the part o f
females, as mothers, to enact the n u rtu ra n t ro le . Whether or not th is
is a b io lo g ic a lly v a lid view, o r whether i t is a re fle c tio n o f a r t i f i
c ia l, e m p iric a lly In v a lid s e x-ro le assumptions is unclear.
The work o f Harlow (Harlow and Zimmerman, 1959; Harlow and H arlo w ,;
1966; Harlow and Suomi, 1970), which casts some doubt upon the v a lid ity
o f oral g r a tific a t io n as the prim ary component o f the m other-child
re la tio n s h ip fo r prim ates, may have im p lica tio n s fo r the v a lid it y o f
c la s s ic a l psychoanalytic theory as fa r as the Importance o f ea rly oral
g r a tific a tio n ; but though th is research showed th a t contact-com fort is
the primary va ria b le in the e a rly prim ate m other-child re la tio n s h ip , i t
says l i t t l e about the d if fe r e n t ia l e ffic ie n c y o f mothers versus fathers
in role enactment along these lin e s .
Klaus, Jerauld, Kreger, McAlpine, S te ffa and Kennel (1972) found i
th a t the amount o f nurturance displayed by new mothers was p o s itiv e ly
related to the amount o f time spent between mother and c h ild during the:
f i r s t fiv e days o f l i f e . By s y s te m a tic a lly increasing the amount o f
e a rly infant-m other contact by sixteen hours during these f i r s t fiv e
days, these authors were able to increase the amount o f nurturant
behavior. One im plicatio n o f th is study, raised by these authors, is
th a t the usual hospital procedures which r e s tr ic t the amount o f e a rly
in fa n t-fa th e r contact to a bare minimum might play a large role in
suppressing nurturant behavior on the p a rt o f fa th e rs . Here we are
presented w ith a kind o f s e l f - f u l f i l l i n g prophecy, in which b e lie fs
about d iffe r e n tia l maternal competence w ith regard to e a rly nurturant
behavior may be leading to procedures th a t s yste m a tica lly tend to
ensure such d iffe r e n tia l maternal competence by excluding fa th ers from :
the o p po rtu nity to develop n u rtu ran t s k i l l s . Thus, experimental fin d
ings such as those of Rebelsky and Hanks (1970) which showed th a t
fa th e rs tended to vocalize less to th e ir in fa n t c h ild re n than did
mothers, and th a t w hile increases in the amount o f v o c a liz a tio n on the i
parts o f mothers were noted as tim e progressed, fa the rs tended to
voca lize less over tim e, may be due to such an e a rly re s tr ic tio n o f
in fa n t-fa th e r contact, which in tu rn may be based upon social norms
concerning ro le - d iffe r e n tia tio n on the basis o f sex.
This view is supported by the fin d in g o f B anikio tes, Montgomery,
and Banikiotes (1972) th a t in fa n ts up to three months o f age did not
respond d if f e r e n t ia lly to vocal reinforcem ent by males and females.
Thus, fo r the young in fa n t there is some evidence o f e q u a lity o f re in -
forecement values o f males and females w ith regard to v o c a liz a tio n .
The question o f whether o r not mothers are more competent than
fa the rs to enact the role o f e a rly parenting is secondary in importance
to the question o f wheterh or not th is r o le - d iffe r e n tia tio n is b io lo g
ic a lly v a lid , or whether i t is , by and large , the product o f social
ro le expectations, th at w hile they may have had some p ra c tic a l basis in
the past, have lo s t th e ir fu n ctio n a l v a lid it y in the present.
Thus, a judgment of d if fe r e n t ia l maternal o r paternal responsi
b i l i t y may Indeed relfect r e a lity , but whether o r not th is r e a lity is
rooted in pre-determ?ned, g e ne tica lly-co d e d, inherent fa c t, is the real
issue. This question is almost impossible to answer through the use o f
c o n tro lle d , experimental research, as are most issues o f the n atu re-
n urture genre.
Recent primate research by Suomi and Harlow (1972) suggests th a t
what has been p reviou sly thought o f as the permanent e ffe c ts o f in fa n t-
mother separation can now be am eliorated through the use o f a s p e c ifi
c a lly stru ctu re d method o f peer in te ra c tio n . This re h a b ilita tio n
program, however, was c a re fu lly engineered, in terms o f " tr a in in g " of
p e e r-th e ra p is ts , and careful co n tro l over relevant v a ria b le s . The fa c t
th a t i t has taken so long to achieve re h a b ilita tio n o f is o la te primate
in fa n ts , along w ith the a r t i f i c i a l l y stru ctu re d nature o f the re h a b il
ita tio n program, suggests th a t in an ordinary l i f e s itu a tio n i t is next;
i
to impossible to re h a b ilita te the damage caused by e a rly infant-m other '
separation. How close ly th is separation is tie d in w ith m aternal, as
opposed to parental separation, is s t i l l an open question.
The A ttrib u tio n o f Blame fo r Psychological Disorder
Blame has been conceptualized as an a ttr ib u tio n which is c o n tin
gent upon an a ttr ib u tio n o f re s p o n s ib ility fo r the behaviors, the
fa u lty enactment o f which is being blamed on an agent.
I t has been previously noted th a t a general tone in the th e o re t
ica l lite r a tu r e on the process o f c h ild -re a rin g is th a t o f an a t t r i
bution o f greater re s p o n s ib ility to mothers than to fa th e rs fo r the
process o f c h ild -re a rin g (Levy, 1950; Ackerman, 1957; Brim, 1961;
Layman, 1961;. Nash, 1965; Hines, 1971). Though Hines (1970 has
attempted to explain the decreased ro le o f the fa th e r in c h ild -re a rin g
in terms o f the advent o f in d u s tria liz a tio n and fa m ily breakdown, there
is evidence th a t paternal involvement in c h ild rearing was minimal well
before the establishment o f in d u s tria liz a tio n .
The two quotations below, the f i r s t from the w ritin g s o f Dr.
W illia m Buchan (1729-1805) and the second from those o f Dr. G. August
Struve ( I 767- I 807) , are from an e a rly nineteenth century manual on
chi ld -re a rin g -(B yrn e and Carey, 1803)_. The remarks o f both of these
physicians were directed towarddfathers o f th a t tim e, most o f whom
considered "th e a ffa ir s o f the nursery e n tire ly the domain o f women."
Both the tone and content o f these quotations are s u rp ris in g ly relevant
to cu rre n t c h ild -re a rin g issues.
Buchan w rote: "The mother is not the only person concerned in the
management o f c h ild re n ; the fa th e r has an equal in te re s t in th e ir w el
fa re and ought to a s s is t in every th in g th a t respects e ith e r the im >-.
provement o f the body or mind. I t is a p ity th a t men should be so in
a tte n tiv e to th is m atter; th e ir negligence is one reason why females
know so l i t t l e o f i t . Women w i l l ever be desirous to excel in such
accomplishments as recommend them to the other sex; but men generally
keep at such a distance from even the sm allest acquaintance w ith the
a ffa ir s o f the nursery, th a t many would reckon i t an a ffro n t were they
supposed to know any th in g of them. Not so, however, w ith the kennel or
the stables; a gentleman o f the f i r s t rank is not ashamed to give
d ire c tio n s concerning the management o f dogs or horses, yet would blush
were he surprised in performing the same o ffic e fo r th a t being who
derived its existence from h im se lf, who is the h e ir to his fo rtu n e s,
and the fu tu re hope o f his co u n try."
S im ila rly , Struve: " I by no means wish to insinuate th a t the
troubles and cares o f education during the f i r s t periods o f l i f e should
be e x c lu s iv e ly imposed upon mothers. Fathers ought also to be se rio u sly
concerned in the f i r s t treatment o f th e ir o ffs p rin g , and not to burden
th e ir weak pa rtn e r, as is too much the case a t the present day, w ith
the general hardships and inconveniences of the nursery. No fa th e r,
who is proud o f and deserving o f th a t name, w il l plead the d if f i c u lt ie s
o f complicated o f f i c i a l engagements w ith a view o f withdraw ing him self
e n tir e ly from the company of h is c h ild re n ; fo r the example o f a Cat9 ,
an Augustus, a Montaigne, and the e ld e r Racine, are t r u ly worthy o f
universal im ita tio n . Both parents ought, th e re fo re , to p a rtic ip a te in
th e mangement o f t h e ir in fa n ts ; and thus the tie s d f mutual a ffe c tio n
i
i
and harmony w il l become every day more firm ly cemented and in d is s o lu
b le ."
I f the co nceptualization o f blame a ttrib u tio n as the d ire c t and
contingent re s u lt o f re s p o n s ib ility a ttrib u tio n is accepted, then i t
would seem reasonable to hypothesize th a t mothers w il l receive more
blame fo r fa u lty ro le enactment o f c h ild -re a rin g behaviors than w ill
fa th e rs , since more re s p o n s ib ility fo r the process o f c h ild rearing is
a ttrib u te d to them than to fa th e rs (Levy, 1950; Ackerman, 1957; Brim,
1961; Layman, 1961; Nash, 1965; Hines, 1971).
To the extent th a t psychopathology is conceptualized as the resu
s u it o f fa u lty o r inadequate c h ild rearing , the hypothesis would be
th a t mothers w il l be blamed fo r psychopathology more than w il l be
fa th e rs .
Thoughnot attem pting to deal w ith the question o f whether the
a ttr ib u tio n o f major re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g is the product
o f an organic tru th o r merely the re fle c tio n o f s o c io -c u ltu ra l norms
which o rig in a te d in an era o f d iffe r e n t fa m ilia l, c u ltu ra l and psycho- ;
lo g ic a l re q u is ite s , Ackerman (1957) discussed the a ttr ib u tio n o f
gre ater maternal blame fo r psychological diso rd e r, perceived as the
lo g ic a l re s u lt o f greater a ttr ib u tio n o f c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility ,
to be damaging to the self-im age o f mothers. He discussed th is damage ;
in terms o f fe e lin g s o f maternal g u ilt and inadequacy. 1
|
The e ffe c ts o f maternal inadequacy or in e ffic ie n c y have been d is
cussed in gre ater depth and d e ta il than have those o f paternal f a ilu r e . ;
Maternal behavior and its consequences has been discussed both more
often than its paternal counterpart, and its consequences have, gener
a lly , been considered more p sych olo gica lly harm ful.
Jenkins and Boyer (1969) attempted to re la te psychological d is
order to both maternal and paternal inadequacy. For each o f a number
o f c lin ic a l case h is to rie s in vo lvin g c h ild re n , a judgement was made, by
one o f a group o f professional ra te rs, as to whether maternal or p a te r
nal d e ficie n cy was present. These judgements o f d e ficie n cy were then
co rrela te d w ith presenting symptoms. On the basis o f th e ir re s u lts ,
Jenkins and Boyer (1969) concluded th a t d e fic ie n t mothering was related
to h o s t i li t y , resentful ness, re b e llio u s delinquent a cts, sexual prob
lems, depression and a n xie ty. D e fic ie n t fa th e rin g was seen as much
less c le a rly related to w e ll-d e fin e d c lin ic a l c lu s te rs o f symptoms.
These authors explained th e ir re su lts by re s ta tin g the notion o f the
m other-child re la tio n s h ip as being much more"M prim ary" and close than
the fa th e r-c h ild re la tio n s h ip . I t should be noted th a t th is study was
done post fa c to , and th a t some o f the c r it e r ia used to determine mater
nal and paternal d e ficie n cy are questionable. For example, i f the
fa th e r was the p rin c ip a l informant in the case, th is was seen as evM
dence f o r d e fic ie n t mothering, but the opposite was not the case.
Jenkins (1966) attempted to re la te s p e c ific aspects o f parental
inadequacy to p s y c h ia tric symptoms o f c h ild re n . Maternal anxiety was
seen as being s tro n g ly related to c h ild re n 's a n xie ty, and maternal
re je c tio n was seen as most clo se ly related to c h ild re n 's h o s tile and
d e fia n t behavior. Paternal neglect was described as being p rim a rily
related to so cia lize d delinquency, which Jenkins (1966) viewed as
s o c ia l, ra th e r than p s y c h ia tric , pathology.
Leighton, S to lla k , and Ferguson (1971) compared communication
p atterns o f fa m ilie s w ith sons who had problems o f under-achievement
and school misbehavior w ith those o f fa m ilie s w ith sons who did not
d is p la y these problem behaviors. These authors found th a t the fa m ilie s
o f the boys w ith problem behaviors displayed patterns o f maternal dom- :
inance o f communication p atte rns, w hile the fa m ilie s o f boys w itho u t
these p a rtic u la r behaviors displayed patterns o f paternal dominance.
Rode (1971) attempted to re la te a ttitu d e s o f adolescents about
t h e ir parents w ith measures of a lie n a tio n , which he considered a neu
r o tic symptom. Rode (1971) found th a t a lie n a tio n was co rre la te d more
w ith perceived maternal negative c h a ra c te ris tic s than w ith perceived
paternal negative c h a ra c te ris tic s .
The consequences o f defe ctive or d e fic ie n t mothering were explo
plored by John Bowl by and his associates (Bowl by, Ainsworth, Boston, s n J
and Rosenbluth, 1956). As has been previously noted, though the
th e o re tic a l con ceptualiza tio n fo r th is research on separation was at
le a st p a rtly based upon the assumption of the importance o f the c h ild 's
f i r s t socia l re la tio n s h ip w ith its parents, only the e ffe c ts o f mother-
c h ild separation were investigated.
Much o f the research on separation and parental inadequacy is
rooted in psychoanalytic theory. According to psychoanalytic the ory,
the consequences o f paternal behavior in terms o f conscience develop
ment and the reinforcem ent o f appropriate masculine behavior do not
surface u n til a fte r the f i r s t three years o f l i f e . I t is at th is time
th a t the beginnings o f p h a llic ly centered lib id in a l d rive s begin to
take on the cen tra l focus w ith in the developmental scheme o f the c h ild .
20 ;
The newly experienced sensations o f sexual desire f e l t by the c h ild
toward the mother are accompanied by anxiety. In the male c h ild , th is j
takes the form o f c a s tra tio n a n x ie ty . Freud (19^9) stressed the
importance o f phylogentic fa c to rs predisposing the in d iv id u a l to
c a s tra tio n a n xie ty, w h ile Fenichel (19^5) preferred to th in k in terms
o f lex ta lio n is or l i t e r a l l y , an eye fo r an eye, a penis fo r a penis.
Thus, the v e ile d aggression th a t the c h ild receives from the fa th e r
w ith regard to p h a llic urges, causes anxiety to be centered around the
o ffending organ, o r more p re c is ly , the loss o f i t (Hartmann and K ris ,
19^5).
In female c h ild re n , p h a llic anxiety is manifested in terms o f
penis envy. The g ir l notes the anatomical d iffe re n ce s between her
g e n ita lia and th a t o f her male counterpart, and fe e ls th a t she has lo s t
the penis she once had. This im plies a fe e lin g o f female in f e r io r it y
due to the fa c t th a t the g ir l fe e ls her c l i t o r i s is in f e r io r to the
male penis fo r both masturbatory and urin a ry purposes. The g i r l ,
reasons Fenichel (19^5), a ttrib u te s the loss o f the penis to punishment
fo r p h a llic desires. I t is at th is point o f divergence in the paths o f
development o f male and female c h ild re n , at the outset o f the p h a llic
stage o f development, th a t the ro le o f the fa th e r becomes important.
Psychoanalytic theory would p re d ict the negative consequences o f ;
fa u lty , o r inadequate fa th e r-c h ild re la tio n sh ip s in terms o f a d e f ic it
o f conscience development and appropriate masculine behavior fo r boys,
and in terms o f abnormal or fa u lty a b il i t y to re la te to males, fo r
g ir ls . The negative consequences o f inadequate m other-child re la tio n
ships are seen to m anifest themselves along much more severe lines due
21
to the importance a ttrib u te d by psychoanalytic theory to the f i r s t
three years o f l i f e , and to the mother's greater involvement w ith the
c h ild during th is period.
Hoffman (1961) found a p o s itiv e re la tio n s h ip between fa th e r-
absence and the development o f se lf-co nfid e n ce, assertiveness, social
s k i l l s , p a r tic u la r ly fo r boys. B ille r and Borstelmann (1967) found a
re la tio n s h ip between academic underachievement and father-absence and,
to a lesser e xte n t, paternal u n a v a ila b ility , p a rtic u la rly fo r boys.
The methodology o f th e ir study is open to question, however, since the
dependent v a ria b le o f academic underachievement depended upon the use
o f a teacher ra tin g , and there was no evidence presented as to the
teachers" being b lin d to the status o f ch ild re n w ith regard to paternal
absence o r presence.
Hoffman (1971) studied the consequences of father-absence and
re la ted them to d e fic ie n t conscience development in boys, tjutnnot in
g ir l s . In a d d itio n , boys w ithout fa th e rs were rated by th e ir teachers
as being more p h y s c ia lly aggressive than boys w ith fa th e rs . Hoffman
(1971) noted, however, the lack of a sta b le , consistent re la tio n s h ip
between fa th e r-c h ild separation and psychological disorder in co ntrast
w ith the voluminous th e o re tic a l lite ra tu re a va ila b le concerning the
p sych o lo g ica lly damaging e ffe c ts o f m other-child separation.
W ohlford, Santrock, Berger, and Liberman (1971) found th a t the
presence and a v a ila b ilit y o f same-sexed, o ld e r s ib lin g s tended to
reduce the e ffe c ts o f father-absence in terms of the development o f
co n tro l o f aggression and the development o f independence but not in
terms o f the development o f sex-typed behavior.
HetHerington (1972) re la ted father-absence in g ir ls to the
development of appropriate interpersonal behavior. She found th a t fo r
a sample o f adolescent g ir l s , father-absence had marked e ffe c ts upon
such behavior. When absence was caused by death, there was an increase
in social in h ib itio n , manifested s p e c ific a lly in terms o f a reduction
o f in te ra c tio n w ith males and an increaaed social distance from them.
When, however, father-absence was caused by divorce, there was a de
crease in in h ib itio n and a decrease in social distance between the
g ir ls and males, as w ell as a pa tte rn o f increased in te ra c tio n w ith
males and a marked seductiveness. Hetherington (1972) found no
evidence fo r d eviations in s e x-ro le behavior fo r her sample.
With regard to schizophrenia, several authors (Lidz, Parker and
Cornelison, 1956; Jackson, Block, Block and Patterson, 1958) have
found fa th e rs o f schizophrenics harder to type than mothers of schizo
phrenics. Reichard and T illm an (1950) presented a general review o f t
the lite r a tu r e on the psychological c h a ra c te ris tic s o f parents o f
schizophrenics, and noted the absence o f a paternal equivalent fo r the
notion o f the schizophrenoqenic mother. A fte r reviewing data on 79
fa m ilie s , Reichard and T illm an (1950) reported maternal domination in
76% o f these fa m ilie s , ove rt maternal re je c tio n in 13%, and covert
maternal re je c tio n in 63%. Paternal dom ination, sadism, as w ell as
paternal re je c tio n , were reported in 15% o f fa m ilie s .
The o v e r-a ll p ic tu re presented is th a t o f greater a ttr ib u tio n o f
blame fo r psychopathology in terms o f q u a n tity , s e v e rity , and c o n s is t
ency o f p a tte rn , to mothers than to fa th e rs . This has been represented
both in th e o re tic a l papers and in em pirical studies and may be due to
a v a rie ty of fa c to rs . For example, the fa c t th a t due to social norms,
mothers have indeed played a greater ro le in the process o f c h ild -
re a rin g , would tend to c o n trib u te toward an em pirical fin d in g o f
gre ater blame a ttrib u te d to mothers fo r psychopathology. In a d d itio n ,
the greater amount of research devoted to mothers than to fathers (
(Layman, 1961;. Nash, 1965; Hines, 1971) might influence fin d in g s about
the e ffe c ts o f parental behavior on psychopathology. Hines (1971)
stresses the p o in t th a t the greater amount o f research time and space
devoted to maternal behavior than to paternal behavior is in i t s e l f a
re fle c tio n o f social norms regarding se x-ro le s. A lso, the influence
o f psychoanalytic theory upon cu rre n t psychological thought might
channel the type o f research undertaken in such a way th a t a lte rn a te
hypotheses are overlooked. Nevertheless, the fa c t remains th a t the
gre ater a ttr ib u tio n o f blame fob psychopathology to mothers described
by Ackerman (1957) appears as a pattern in the psychological lite ra tu re .
Sex-Role A ttitu d e s and Blame A ttrib u tio n
The nature and o rig in o f se x-ro le a ttitu d e s have been reviewed
by Kagan (1964) and discussed in a previous se ctio n. Empirical data
v e rify in g the existence o f these a ttitu d e s has been presented by
several authors (Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman, and Broverman,
1968; Lunneborg, 1970; Broverman, Vogel, Broverman, Clarkson and
Rosenkrantz, 1972). I t was suggested by Kellerman (1974) th a t paren
ta l co ntrol was related to sex-role a ttitu d e s . Kellerman (1974)
hypothesized th a t fath ers would be perceived as being responsible fo r
2ft
the development o f c h ild re n 's behaviors re la tin g to "masculine" char
a c te r is tic s , such as the development o f appropriate aggressiveness and
independence, w hile mothers would be perceived as being responsible fo r
the development and regula tion o f behaviors related to "fem inin e" char
a c te ris tic s such as the development o f e m o tio n a lity . Using the concep-
tu liz a tio n o f the a ttr ib u tio n o f blame as the d ire c t and contingent
re s u lt o f an a ttr ib u tio n o f parental re s p o n s ib ility , Kellerman (197ft)
hypothesized th a t a ttitu d e s toward parental blame fo r psychopathology
would r e fle c t these a ttitu d e s about se x-role behavior.
To te s t th is hypothesis, a questionnaire was developed (Kellerman,
197ft) in which case h is to rie s o f va rio u sttype s o f c h ild psychopathology
were presented. One th ir d o f the case h is to rie s were constructed so as
to r e fle c t pathology o f a behavioral area designated as d e sira b ly mas
cu lin e according to the data on se x-ro le a ttitu d e s and se x-role typing
(Kagan, 196ft; Rosenkrantz, et a l , 1968; Lunneborg, 1970). These were
case h is to rie s describing the fo llo w in g psychopathologies: an excess
of physical aggressiveness (acting o u t), a lack o f aggressiveness and
ambition (p a s s iv ity ), fa ilu r e in mathematics and science, a th le tic in
competence, and re b e llio n against a u th o rity .
One th ir d of the case h is to rie s were constructed so as to re fle c t
pathology o f d e sira b ly "fe m in in e " areas o f behavior. These were: an
excess o f e m o tio n a lity (tantrum s), a lack o f e m o tio n a lity (coldness),
fa ilu r e in English and humanities, an excess o f in f a n t ile dependency
(thumbsucking), and obesity which was conceptualized as a disturbance
o f feeding behavior, re la tin g to the concept of the "fem in ine" q u a li
tie s o f feeding and n u rtu ra n t behavior.
25
I t was predicted th a t fathers would be blamed more than would
i
mothers fo r the pathologies designated as re la tin g to masculine areas
o f dominance, and th a t mothers would be blamed more than fath ers fo r
pathologies o f areas re la tin g to fem inine dominance.
A th ir d group o f psychopathologies were presented in the form o f
case h is to rie s constructed so as not to re la te in any obvious manner
to se x-role a ttitu d e s . These were: asthma, s tu tte rin g , tic s , enuresis
and mental re ta rd a tio n . I t was predicted th a t fo r these psychopathol- '
ogies, not seen as c le a rly re la tin g to sex9role a ttitu d e s , mothers
would be blamed more than would fa th e rs ,b b u t th a t the d iffe re n c e be
tween maternal and paternal blame a ttr ib u tio n scores would be less than
fo r the sex-role re la ted psychopathologies. The ra tio n a le fo r th is
p re d ic tio n was that a tendency to blame mothers more than fathe rs fo r
"n e u tra l" pathologies could be seen as r e fle c tin g the s o c io -c u ltu ra l
norm ascrib in g greater re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g to mothers than
to fa the rs and the em pirical r e a litie s o f c h ild -re a rin g .
An attempt was made to measure the e ffe c ts o f sex o f su b je ct, and
sex o f c h ild described in the case h is to rie s , and o f perceived s e v e rity '
o f pathology using a questionnaire e n title d Psychodiagnostics: A Survey
which consisted o f 15 short case h is to rie s o f ch ild re n w ith the p re v i
ously mentioned psychological problem. The c h ild re n were described as
having been seen a t a local c h ild guidance c lin ic .
Subjects were asked to read each case h is to ry and to make two
judgments concerning i t . F ir s t, subjects were asked to assume, fo r the
purpose o f the study, th a t 100% o f the " re s p o n s ib ility " fo r the c h ild 's
problem belonged to the parents. Using th is to ta l o f 100%, subjects
26
were then asked to d iv id e up the to ta l " re s p o n s ib ility " between the
c h ild 's mother and fa th e r. Secondly, subjects were asked to rate the
s e v e rity o f each problem using the fo llo w in g scale: 1 = m ild ; 2 = m ild
to moderate; 3 = moderate; k = severe; 5 = very severe.
Subjects were randomly assigned to one o f three groups. The f i r s t
group read case h is to rie s in which the sex o f the c h ild was not speci
fie d . C hildren, in th is form o f the questionnaire, were described by
le tte r s , such as " c h ild A ." A second group o f subjects read case h is
to rie s in vo lvin g boys, and a th ird read case h is to rie s o f g ir ls .
Except fo r the name o f the c h ild , designating i t as e ith e r male, female
or unspecified sex, the wording o f the case h is to rie s fo r a ll three
groups was id e n tic a l. Subjects were run in groups o f about t h ir t y ,
w ith a ll three forms administered sim ultaneously fo r each group. Both
male and female subjects p a rtic ip a te d in each group, and were randomly
handed one o f the three forms o f the questionnaire.
When case h is to rie s involving problems o f possible organic e t i o l
ogy were presented, such as asthma, and enuresis, an emphasis was made
upon the "psychological nature" o f the problem, and organic e tio lo g y
was discounted. Thus, a ll problems were presented as instances o f
psychopathology.
The re s u lts o f th is study supported the hypothesis o f a re la tio n
ship between se x-ro le a ttitu d e s and patterns o f blame a ttr ib u tio n fo r
psychopathology. Of the fiv e psychopathologies constructed so as to
re la te to masculine areas o f dominance, a ll were blamed more on the
fa th e r than on the mother.
Of the fiv e psychopathologies constructed so as to re la te to fern-
in in e areas o f dominance, a ll were blamed more on the mother than on
the fa th e r. Of the fiv e "n e u tra l" psychopathologies, fo u r were blamed
more on the motheri than on the fa th e r, o ffe rin g some support fo r the
notion o f greater blame a ttr ib u tio n d ire cte d toward mothers than
fa th e rs fo r psychopathology due to the greater a ttr ib u tio n o f c h ild -
rearing re s p o n s ib ility to mothers. For one psychopathology, tic s ,
there was no demonstrable tendency to blame the parent o f one sex more
than the oth er.
S ig n ific a n t d iffere nces between the blame a ttr ib u tio n patterns o f
male subjects and female subjects were found fo r two o f the psychopath
ologies constructed as male-dominated. A two-way analysis o f variance
showed th a t fo r the pathologies o f p a s s iv ity and re b e llio n against
a u th o rity , though both male and female subjects tended to a ttr ib u te
more blame to fath ers than to mothers, female subjects reduced th is
tendency.
Sex o f the c h ild presented in the case h is to rie s proved to be a
s ig n ific a n t v a ria b le fo r two other psychopathologies, both o f which
were also constructed so as to re la te to masculine areas o f dominance.
For the psychopathology o f physical aggressiveness, or acting o ut, a ll
subjects tended to assign more blame to the fa th e r than to the mother,
but fo r subjects who read case h is to rie s in vo lving g ir l s , th is tendency
was s ig n ific a n tly reduced.
In the case o f the psychopathology o f a th le tic incompetence, sub
je c ts who read case h is to rie s invo lving boys o r c h ild re n o f unspecified
sex, tended to blame the fa th e r more than the mother. Subjects who
read case h is to rie s invo lving g ir ls , however, blamed the mother more
28
than the fa th e r, although the actual amount o f blame a ttrib u te d was
less. There were no s ig n ific a n t in te ra ctio n s between the va ria b les o f
subject sex and sex o f c h ild .
In order to examine the p o s s ib ility o f a re la tio n s h ip between sub
je c ts ' perceptions o f s e v e rity o f psychopathology and a ttrib u tio n s o f
parental blame, Pearson c o rre la tio n s between s e v e rity scores and blame
scores fo r each psychopathology were computed. The resuling 15 cor
re la tio n c o e ffic ie n ts ranged from -.0900 to .1684. For o nly one psy
chopathology, coldness or unemotional t t y , was there a s ig n ific a n t co r
re la tio n between perceived s e v e rity and maternal blame beyond the .05
level o f s ig n ific a n c e (r = .1684, p = .014). Thus, perceived s e v e rity ,
measured by the p a rtic u la r method used, did not appear to re la te
s tro n g ly , in a lin e a r fashion to blame a ttr ib u tio n .
One possible c r itic is m o f the methodology used by Kellerman (1974)
to measure a ttitu d e s toward parental blame fo r psychopathology, was
th a t by asking subjects to assume 100% parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r the
psychopathologies in the questionnaire, there was the p o s s ib ility o f
an a r t i f i c a l skewing o f scores in the d ire c tio n o f parental d iffe re n c e .
An a lte rn a te methodology would be to allow subjects to ra te the over
a ll level o f parental re s p o n s ib ility , and then to d ivid e th is responsi
b i l i t y up between the two parents. In a d d itio n to co rre ctin g fo r any
skewing th a t might occur as the re s u lt o f an a r t i f i c i a l forced-choice
assumption, th is method would allow fo r a c o rre la tio n a l analysis meas
uring the re la tio n s h ip between o v e r-a ll level o f a ttrib u te d parental
re s p o n s ib ility and the d ir e c tio n a lity o f m aternal-paternal blame a t
tr ib u tio n .
In a d d itio n , i t was suggested th a t the fin d in g s o f l i t t l e re la tio n
ship between ra tin g s o f s e v e rity and blame a ttr ib u tio n in Kellerman's ;
(197*0 o rig in a l study might have been due to the method used to measure:
s e v e rity . The o n e -to -fiv e scale may have p sycholo gica lly lim ite d sub- :
je c t s 1 responses and caused a narrow range o f responses. I t was sug
gested th a t a methodology allow ing fo r a greater v a rie ty o f responses,
such as a zero to one hundred percent scale might be able to tap s ig
n ific a n t patterns o f a ttitu d e s concerning s e v e rity .
The inco rp o ratio n o f these methodological changes account fo r a
p o rtion o f the present d is s e rta tio n . The data from the o rig in a l study
is lim ite d , in terms o f g e n e ra liz a tio n , due to the nature o f the sub
je c ts who p a rtic ip a te d in th a t study. A ll were undergraduates, un
m arried, and had no c h ild re n . While the a ttitu d e s o f such a group
about c h ild -re a rin g and psychopathology are inh e re n tly in te re s tin g , and
s ig n ific a n t, perhaps, in terms o f expectations, any ge n e ra liza tio n to
hypothesized a ttitu d e s o f other groups is severely lim ite d . I t was
f e l t th a t an attempt to measure the a ttitu d e s o f other groups would be
useful in expanding cu rre n t knowledge about c h ild -re a rin g b e lie fs and
a ttrib u tio n s o f blame and re s p o n s ib ility .
One section o f the cu rren t group o f s tu d ie s , involves the m o d ifi
cation o f Kellerm an's o rig in a l (197*+) questionnaire along the lin e s j
previously mentioned, and an attem pt to re p lic a te the o rig in a l study
j
w ith a group o f undergraduates as w ell as to attempt to measure the
a ttitu d e s o f other groups, s p e c ific a lly parents and in d ividu a ls in
volved in the health and guidance professions.
I t was hypothesized th a t, u t iliz in g the m odified methodology, the j
data would continue to support the re la tio n s h ip between se x-ro le a t t i
tudes and a ttitu d e s toward blame fo r psychopathology. That is ,
patterns o f paternal and maternal blame would continue to re la te d i
re c tly to the sex-typed nature o f the psychopathology presented. In
a d d itio n , i t was hypothesized th a t fo r the psychopathologies not con
structed to conform to e ith e r masculine or fem inine areas o f dominance
mothers would be blamed more than fa th e rs , due to the a ttr ib u tio n of
greater re s p o n s ib ility fo r the process o f c h ild -re a rin g .
The th e o re tic a l bases and m anifestations o f the a ttr ib u tio n o f
greater maternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g have beenddiscussed
in the present d is s e rta tio n and by several other authors (Levy, 1950;
Ackerman, 1957; Layman, 1961; Brim 1961; Nash, 1965; Hines, 1971).
However, l i t t l e em pirical in v e s tig a tio n o f th is area e x is ts . Such an
in v e s tig a tio n was the focus o f the second p o rtio n o f the present group
o f studies.
An attempt was made to c o lle c t a representative sample o f c h ild -
rearing behaviors, one th a t would be r e la tiv e ly exhaustive, to present
these behaviors to d iffe re n t types o f subjects, and to c o lle c t data
regarding the d iv is io n o f maternal and paternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r
these behaviors. I t was hypothesized th a t the number o f behaviors
seen as under primary maternal re s p o n s ib ility would exceed the number
seen as under primary paternal re s p o n s ib ility .
In a d d itio n , an attempt was made to in v e s tig a te , in an e xplorato
ry manner, the general area o f d iv is io n o f parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r
c h ild -re a rin g behaviors. By o b ta in in g data regarding a ttitu d e s about
a large number o f c h ird -re a rfn g v a ria b le s , i t was hoped th a t valuable
inform ation regarding which s p e c ific aspects o f c h ild -re a rin g le n t
themselves to s p e c ific patterns o f re sp o n sib i11ty - d lv is lo n , would be
produced.
CHAPTER II
METHOD
Subjects
Subjects in the present studies were divided up in to three compar
ison groups. The f i r s t group consisted o f 49 students e n ro lle d in an
in tro d u c to ry psychology class a t C a lifo rn ia State U n iv e rs ity , N orth-
rid g e . Subjects in th is group received c re d it toward f u lf illm e n t o f
the re s e a rc h -p a rtic ip a tio n requirement o f an in tro d u cto ry psychology
cla ss.
The second group o f subjects was a parent sample. This group con
s is te d o f subjects obtained from several sources. The f i r s t sample
consisted o f parents p a rtic ip a tin g in e x tra -c u rric u la r classes a t
Westside Jewish Community Center. The second sample was re c ru ite d from
a parent-teacher group at Washington School in Culver C ity . A th ir d
group o f parents was obtained by re c ru itin g the vo lu n ta ry p a rtic ip a tio n
o f parents attending an undergraduate counseling group a t C a lifo rn ia
State U n iv e rs ity , N orthridge. The to ta l parent sample numbered 31
persons.
The th ir d comparison group consisted o f mental health tra in e e s.
i
These in d iv id u a ls were re c ru ite d from two samples. F ir s t, s ix subjects!
were graduate students in social work at the U n iv e rs ity o f Southern j
C a lifo rn ia . These subjects were interested in c lin ic a l socia l work,
32 I
s p e c ific a lly c h ild c lin ic a l work, and were p a rtic ip a tin g In a one-year
tra in ee sh ip in the D ivision o f P sychiatry, C hildren's Hospital o f Los
Angeles. In a d d itio n , ]b graduate students in school psychology a t
C a lifo rn ia State U n iv e rs ity , N orthridge p a rtic ip a te d in the cu rre n t
studies. Both the graduate students in social work and those in school
psychology were e n ro lle d in programs term inating in a m aster's degree,
and a ll were s p e c ific a lly in te reste d in working w ith c h ild re n . Demo
graphic data on subjects is presented in Table 1.
An attempt was made to obtain the p a rtic ip a tio n o f p e d ia tric in
terns and residents a t C hild re n 's H ospital o f Los Angeles, Question
naires were d is trib u te d under the a u th o riza tio n o f the d ire c to r o f
tra in in g a t the h o sp ita l to the 53 members o f the house s ta f f . Only
nine physicians responded, however, and th is low re turn rate made u t i l
iz a tio n o f th is data o f doubtful v a lid it y .
Instruments
Two questionnaires were used: The f i r s t was designed to measure
a ttitu d e s about a ttr ib tu io n o f parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a r
ing. E n title d C hild-R earing Q uestionnaire, i t consisted o f a l i s t o f
99 c h ild -re a rin g behaviors. These behaviors were assembled and com
p ile d using several books on c h ild -re a rin g as references ( B a r tle tt,
1932; H ardcastle, 19^8; P a tri, 19^8; Faegre, Anderson,and H a rris , 1958;
Gruenberg, 1963; Goodrich, 1968; Freman, 1968; Fass, 1968; Ames, 1970).
An attempt was made to assemble a representative and r e la tiv e ly exhaus
tiv e sample o f c h ild -re a rin g behaviors. Order o f placement o f behav
io ra l items w ith in the questionnaire was randomized and no reference
...............................................................................................................3k
was made to the sex o f the c h ild .
These 99 Items were presented to a ll subjects as behaviors which
were part o f the c h ild -re a rin g process. Subjects were in stru cte d to
read each behavior and to d ivid e up the parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r
th a t behavior between mothers and fa th e rs so th a t the to ta l a ttr ib u tio n I
o f re s p o n s ib ility added up to 100%. Thus, a s u b je c t's response fo r
each item could be any two-response combination adding up to 100. Sub-
je c ts were asked to d iv id e up parental re s p o n s ib ility as they thought
i t should be, th a t is , were asked to make an ideal a ttr ib u tio n as op
posed to one which represented perceived r e a lity .
The second questionniare was the m odified version o f Kellerm an's
o rig in a l (197*0 instrum ent. I t was e n title d Psychodiagnostics: A
Survey, and designed to measure three types o f a ttitu d e s . Subjects
read the 15 case h is to rie s and were asked to make three judgments.
F ir s t, they were aked to ra te the amount o f parental " re s p o n s ib ility "
fo r the psychopathology described in each case h is to ry . Though the
word re s p o n s ib ility was used, what was a c tu a lly being e lic ite d was an
a ttrib u tio n o f blame, using the opera tion al d e fin itio n set fo rth in
th is paper, o f blame as re s p o n s ib ility fo r d e fic ie n t or fa u lty ro le -
enactment. Using a scale ranging from zero to 100%, subjects were '
asked to rate o v e r-a ll parental blame. Secondly, subjects were asked
to divide up the blame fo r the psychopathologies between the c h ild 's ;
I
mother and fa th e r. This is the same measure taken in the o rig in a l !
study, the d iffe re n ce being th a t in the present study i t was preceded
by a measure o f o v e r-a ll parental blame. The th ir d measure taken on
th is was a measure o f perceived s e v e rity using a scale ranging from zero
35
to 100, w ith 100 representing maximum perceived s e v e rity . S e ve rity was
described in terms o f how much Impediment o f the c h ild 's fu tu re l i f e
was perceived, as opposed to a ttitu d e s regarding prognosis.
Procedure
The method o f a dm inistration o f the two questionnaires was d i f f e r
ent fo r the student group than i t was fo r the parent and mental health
trainees groups. The parent and mental health tra in e e groups were
given in s tru c tio n s on how to f i l l out the questionnaires, and were
given the questionnaires to take home. They were in s tru c te d to f i r s t
f i l l out the c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility q uestionnaire, and then the
psychodiagnostics questionnaire. Due to the fa c t th a t these subjects
were re c ru ite d v o lu n ta r ily , w ith no experimental commitment on th e ir
p a rt, i t was necessary to allow them to f i l l out the questionnaires at
th e ir le is u re . While th is meant th at the degree o f co n tro l exercised
by the experimenter was reduced, such a procedure was the o n ly possible
way to o b tain data from non-obligated subjects. A ll subjects in the
parent group f i l l e d out the c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility qu estionnaire
and a ll but one completed the psychodiagnostics q u estio n n a ire . A ll
subjects in the mental health tra in ee group f i l l e d out both question
naires.
The subjects in the undergraduate student group f i l l e d out the
questionnaires in groups o f about fift e e n , w ith the experim enter pre
sent. These subjects were offered experimental c re d it fo r f i l l i n g out
each o f the questionnaires. Subjects f i r s t f i l l e d out the c h ild - r e a r
ing questionnaire and were then given the o p p o rtu n ity to re tu rn and
f i l l out the psychodiagnostics questionnaire two days la te r. A ll these
subjects returned to f i l l out the second questionnaire.
CHAPTER I I I
RESULTS
C h ild -R earing R e s p o n s ib ility
In response to the c h ild -re a rin g questionnaire, each subject pro
duced 99 sets o f two scores. These scores, consisting o f maternal and
paternal re sp on sib i1it y a ttr ib u tio n s , were lin e a r combinations o f each
o th er. Thus data analysis could be c a rrie d out on the set o f maternal
scores. C u t-o ff points o f fiv e points above or below 50% were estab
lished as c r it e r ia in the analysis o f the data from the c h ild -re a rin g
questionnaire. Maternal re s p o n s ib ility scores o f 55% or more were
considered primary maternal a ttrib u tio n s and those o f 45% or less were ;
considered primary paternal a ttrib u tio n s o f re s p o n s ib ility .
The format o f the c h ild -re a rin g questionnaire o ffe re d o pportunity
fo r subjects to b la n k e tly endorse shared re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a r
ing by making 50-50 responses fo r a ll 99 items. Two o f the 49 under
graduate students did so, placing equal re s p o n s ib ility fo r a ll items on
both parents. None o f the parent subjects made a blanket a ttr ib u tio n o h '
o f e q u a lity . Of the 20 mental health tra in e e s, seven endorsed shared
re s p o n s ib ility fo r a ll c h ild -re a rin g items. This represents 35% o f ,
th is p a rtic u la r sample and tends to support the idea th a t these mental
health trainees responded in a q u a lita tiv e ly d is t in c t manner from both j
the student and parent samples.
37
When In d ivid u a ls did endorse an a ttr ib u tio n o f c h ild -re a rin g
e q u a lity , they tended to respond to the notion o f c h ild -re a rin g , in
general, as opposed to syste m a tica lly responding to each o f the 99
in d ivid u a l items on the questionnaire. These in d iv id u a ls o fte n began
to read the items and made a blanket a ttr ib u tio n o f e q u a lity w itho u t
fin is h in g the questionnaire. I t seemed, th e re fo re , th a t these subjects;
were responding in a q u a lita tiv e ly as w ell as q u a n tita tiv e ly d iffe r e n t ;
fashion from subjects who responded to in d iv id u a l items. Their re
sponses were excluded from fu rth e r data a nalysis.
The re su lts o f the data analysis supported the hypothesis o f
greater primary maternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g behaviors.
A ll three groups o f subjects a ttrib u te d a greater number o f behaviors
to primary maternal, as opposed to p a te rn a l, re s p o n s ib ility . Subject
groups did d if f e r in the o v e r-a ll pa tterns and proportions o f responsi
b i l i t y a ttrib u tio n .
The student subjects saw 46 items as p rim a rily maternal and 12
items as p rim a rily p a te rn a l. The parent subjects a ttrib u te d primary
maternal re s p o n s ib ility to 53 items and primary paternal re s p o n s ib ility ;
to nine items. The mental health tra in ee s saw 28 items as maternal and!
i
fo u r as paternal. A ll 99 items are presented, rank-ordered fo r the i
student sample, in Table 2. I
I
The mental health tra in e e sample viewed the m a jo rity o f the ch ild -!
rearing items presented as not lending themselves to divided a ttr ib u - j
tio n o f parental re s p o n s ib ility . The student and parent samples, on j
the other hand, a ttrib u te d d if fe r e n t ia l re s p o n s ib ility fo r the m ajority!
o f items. In a d d itio n , a s ig n ific a n t pro po rtio n o f the mental health
tra in e e sample was excluded from th is data analysis because o f blanket
endorsement o f e q u a lity o f re s p o n s ib ility a ttr ib u tio n . Thus, the 13
subjects who remained represented a p o te n tia lly skewed sample. The
fa c t th a t even these subjects presented a pa tte rn o f view ing the m ajor-
i t y o f c h ild -re a rin g behaviors as not subject to d if fe r e n t ia l a t t r ib u
tio n , le n t credence to an assumption o f q u a lita tiv e d iffe re n ce s between
th is group and the other two groups in terms o f expressed a ttitu d e s re
garding c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility .
Parental Blame
Subjects were asked to rate the amount o f parental re s p o n s ib ility
fo r the 15 case h is to rie s presented, using a scale from zero to 100%.
Using the operational d e fin itio n o f blame as re s p o n s ib ility fo r defec
tiv e ro le enactment, or re s p o n s ib ility fo r fa u lty consequences, th is
measurement provided data regarding a ttr ib u tio n o f parental blame.
A ll three groups o f subjects e xh ib ite d a tendency to assign large
amounts o f parental blame fo r a ll the case h is to rie s presented w ith the
exception o f the case h is to ry describing a c h ild w ith mental re tarda
tio n . Mean blame scores fo r mental re ta rd a tio n were 22.5% fo r the s tu -
dentssubjects, 22.8% fo r the parent su b je cts, and 23.8% fo r the mental
health tra in ee s. Even these scores were influenced by extreme scores
produced by a few subjects in each group. Median blame scores, which
may be considered to r e fle c t more t y p ic a lit y than means, were 5.0, 0 .0,
and 5.0 re sp e ctive ly. For the remining 14 case h is to rie s there was a
tendency on the pa rt o f a ll groups o f subjects to assign more than 50%
o f the to ta l blame to the c h ild 's parents. A ll mean blame scores pro
40
duced by the student and parent samples fo r the remaining 14 case h is
to rie s were above 50%, and fo r the mental health tra in e e group, a ll but
two. Medians were s im ila r to means fo r these 14 case h is to rie s .
Mean blame scores fo r each group o f subjects were, in tu rn , aver
aged so th a t mean o v e r-a ll blame scores fo r a ll 15 case h is to rie s were
computed. This ind ica ted the mean blame assigned by subjects to par
ents fo r the segment o f psychopathology represented by the case h is
to rie s in th is p a rtic u la r questionnaire. O ver-all mean blame scores
fo r the student subjects was 67.9%, fo r the parents, 66.6%, and fo r the
mental health tra in e e s , 63.8%. When mental re ta rd a tio n was removed
from th is computation, these means rose to 72.8%, 69.7%, and 66.7%
re s p e c tiv e ly . The o v e r-a ll p ic tu re presented by th is data, then, is
th a t a ll groups o f subjects tended to assign the m a jo rity a ttrib u tio n s
o f blame fo r psychopathology to parents. Parental blame data is pre
sented in Table 3.
D iv is io n o f Maternal and Paternal Blame
The second judgment subjects were asked to make regarding each
case h is to ry , was to d iv id e up, using a mathematical to ta l o f 100%,
parental blame fo r psychopathology between the mother and fa th e r o f the
c h ild presented in the case h is to rie s . This measurement is s im ila r to
th a t used in Kellerm an's (1974) study, w ith the exception th a t in the
present study i t was preceded by a judgment o f parental blame and in
the previous study, subjects were asked to assume 100% parental blame.
The case h is to rie s were divided up in to three groups, those r e la t
ing to stereotyped fem inine aspects o f behavior, those re la tin g to
s te re o ty p ic masculine a ttrib u te s , and those not seen as c le a rly r e l a t
ing to se x-ro le ty p in g . In the o rig in a l study, enuresis was included
in the unrelated group. Subsequently, however, i t was suggested th a t
enuresis might be re a d ily seen as re la tin g to the s te re o typ ic fem inine
c h a ra c te ris tic s o f im m aturity and c h ild is h regression. I t was present
ly included among the predicted maternal blame items.
Mean maternal blame scores fo r a ll groups o f subjects are pre
sented in Table k alongside w ith the means produced by subjects from
the o rig in a l study. I t can be seen th a t student and parent subjects in
the present study produced maternal blame scores s im ila r to those pro
duced by the o rig in a l subjects, although the tendency to assign d iffe r
e n tia l blame was somewhat num berically lower than th a t e x h ib ite d by the
o rig in a l sub jects. Mental health trainees did not e x h ib it a tendency to
a ttr ib u te d if fe r e n t ia l blame fo r psychopathology. The data from th is
measurement was analyzed in the fo llo w in g manner: For a ll three groups
o f su bjects, frequency d is trib u tio n s fo r each o f the 15 case h is to rie s
was obtained. This made i t possible to examine the exact p a tte rn o f
a ttr ib u tio n produced in response to each psychopathology.
For each group o f subjects the percentage o f subjects who a t t r i
buted equal (50-50), m aternal, and paternal blame fo r each psychopath
ology was ca lcu la te d . This data is presented in Table 5.
The pa tte rn presented by th is data is one in which the student and
parent subjects assigned g reatest equal blame fo r the neutral pa th o lo
g ie s , g re atest maternal blame fo r the "fem inine" pathologies, and
g re a te st paternal blame fo r the "Masculine" pathologies. Mothers were
assigned primary blame by a g reater proportion o f subjects in the s tu
42 !
dent group than were fa th e rs . This data tends to lend lim ite d support :
to the re la tio n s h ip between se x-ro le stereotypes and a ttitu d e s toward
blame fo r psychopathology.
I t is noteworthy th a t a large p ro po rtio n , o fte n more than h a lf o f
the student and parent subjects d id not assign d iffe r e n tia l blame fo r
s e x -ro le -re la te d p athologies. When a ttrib u tio n s o f d iffe r e n tia l blame
were made, however, the patterns o f a ttr ib u tio n conformed to the sex-
ro le hypothesis. In a d d itio n , though the vast m a jo rity o f subjects did!
not assign d if f e r e n t ia l blame fo r the "n e u tra l" pathologies, when a
d iffe r e n tia l a ttr ib u tio n was made, i t was more lik e ly to be on the
maternal than on the paternal side. This also conformed to a fin d in g
o f Kellerm an's (1974) study.
The blame p a tte rn presented by the mental health trainees was
d iffe re n t from those o f the student and parent samples. V ir tu a lly none
o f these subjects made d if fe r e n t ia l a ttrib u tio n s o f blame. They tended
to view blame as shared eq u a lly between mothers and fa th e rs.
Perceived S eve rity o f Psychopathology
Tfie th ir d measurement o f the second questionnaire deals w ith per- :
ceived s e v e rity o f psychopathology. Subjects were asked to make a
judgment about the s e v e rity o f each psychopathology in terms o f how
much they thought the p a rtic u la r pathology would impede fu tu re function-1
ing o f the c h ild described. A scale o f zero to 100 was used, w ith zero!
|
representing minimum, and 100 representing maximum perceived s e v e rity .
The re s u lts o f th is measurement showed th a t the perceived s e v e rity ;
scores produced by the parent subjects tended to be higher than those !
produced by the students and mental health tra in e e s. The mental health
trainees tended to perceive psychopathologies presented as less severe
than did students and parents. In the case o f two psychopathologies,
obesity and a th le tic incompetence, the student subjects produced the
highest perceived s e v e rity scores. For the remaining 13, the order was
parents, students, mental health trainees.
There was agreement between a ll groups o f subjects as to the most
and lea st severe pathologies. Mental re ta rd a tio n and excessive aggres
sive a c tin g -o u t were seenbby a ll groups o f subjects as the two most
severe pathologies. A th le tic incompetence, thumbsucking, and school
fa ilu r e in mathematics and science were seen as the three le a st severe
pathologies by a ll groups o f subjects.
There were no d is c e rn ib le patterns o f perceived s e v e rity re la tin g
to s p e c ific types or c la s s ific a tio n s o f pathology, such as somatic ver
sus p e rs o n a lity d iso rd e rs, or o f a re la tio n s h ip between perceived se
v e rity and sex-role relatedness o f the pathologies. Perceived se ve rity
data is presented in Table 6.
Parental Blame and Divided Parental BlAme
In order to in v e s tig a te the existence o f a re la tio n s h ip between
how much blame subjects a ttrib u te d to parents fo r the psychopathologies
and how they divided up th is blame between mothers and fa th e rs , Pearson
c o rre la tio n s were run fo r each parental blame score and it s respective
maternal blame score. No s ig n ific a n t c o rre la tio n s were found fo r a ll
three groups, between parental blame and maternal blame scores.
kk
Perceived S everity and Divided Parental Blame
An attempt was also made to in v e s tig a te any re la tio n s h ip between
perceived s e v e rity and maternal blame scores. For the student subjects,
three s ig n ific a n t c o rre la tio n s o f th is type were produced. Maternal
blame was p o s itiv e ly co rrela te d w ith perceived s e v e rity fo r obesity
( r = .28; p = .048). There was a p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n between maternal
blame fo r aggressive a ctin g -o u t and perceived s e v e rity (r = . 5 0; p =
.001). T his, however, was a pathology fo r which primary d ire c tio n o f
blame tended to be paternal. Thus, the im portant measurement would be
the negative c o rre la tio n between paternal blame and perceived s e v e rity .
A s im ila r pattern was found fo r thumbsucking, w ith a negative c o rre la
tio n between maternal blame and perceived s e v e rity ( r = -.3 8 ; p = .007).
For the parent sample, a s ig n ific a n t negative c o rre la tio n was
found between maternal blame fo r a th le tic incompetence (r = - . 3 8;
p = .039). This was a pathology fo r which p rim a :/ blame was p a te rna l.
Thus, what was expressed is a p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n between paternal
blame and perceived s e v e rity . The data from the mental health tra in e e
sample produced no s ig n ific a n t c o rre la tio n s .
Thus, perceived s e v e rity and divided blame did not seem to re la te i
to one another in any s o rt o f co n sisten t manner. There were two in
stances o f primary blame being p o s itiv e ly re la te d to s e v e rity and two
o f primary blame being negatively re lated to perceived s e v e rity . Each ;
o f these pairs was divided in to one pathology fo r which primary blame
was maternal and one p rim a rily paternal pathology. A ll three between-
subject c o rre la tio n s were not s ig n ific a n t.
...................................... 45
Parental Blame and Perceived S everity
An attem pt was made to in ve stig a te a re la tio n s h ip between ju d g
ments o f o v e r-a ll parental blame fo r psychopathologies and perceived
s e v e rity o f those pathologies. Here, evidence o f a consistent re la tio n
ship arose. For the student sample, s ig n ific a n t p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n s
between parental blame scores and perceived s e v e rity were found fo r 10
o f the 15 psychopathologies.
For the parent sample, and fo r the mental health tra in e e sample,
such p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n s were found fo r two psychopathologies each.
Thus, there was a marked tendency fo r subjects in the student sample
who had a ttrib u te d high parental blame to make high perceived s e v e rity
ra tin g s . This tendency was not as stro n g ly evident fo r the parent and
mental health tra in ee samples. C orrelations between parental blame and
perceived s e v e rity are presented in Table 7.
Demographic Variables
The parent sample was the only one fo r which there was an appre
c ia b le variance in terms o f demographic variables such as age, years
m arried, number o f c h ild re n , and educational le v e l. In an attem pt to
in v e s tig a te the existence o f re la tio n sh ip s between these v a ria b le s and ;
qu estionnaire measures, Pearson c o rre la tio n s were computed. Number o f
years m arried co rre la te d p o s itiv e ly w ith perceived s e v e rity o f aggres
sive a c tin g -o u t (r = .43; p = .018). Number o f ch ild re n c o rre la te d
p o s itiv e ly w ith perceived s e v e rity o f emotional withdrawal (coldness).
Here, the c o rre la tio n was .38 (p = .038). Educational level c o rre la te d
n e g a tive ly w ith three perceived s e v e rity scores, aggressive a c tin g -o u t
46
(r = -.4 0 ; p = .027), thumbsucking ( r = -.4 8 ; p = .008), and school
fa ilu r e in math and science (r = 9.37; p = .045).
Age co rre la te d p o s itiv e ly w ith three perceived se ve rity ra tin g s ,
a th le tic incompetence (r = .38; p = .039), coldness (r = .38; p = .040),
and tantrums ( r = .42; p = .020). There were no s ig n ific a n t c o rre la
tio n s between these demographic va ria b le s and blame a ttrib u tio n s .
CHAPTER IV
DISCUSSION
Data from the c h ild -re a rin g questionnaire supported the hypothesis
th a t mothers would be a ttrib u te d prim ary re s p o n s ib ility fo r a greater
share o f the c h ild -re a rin g items than would fa th e rs . This hypothesis
was based upon th e o re tic a l and em pirical data (Ackerman, 1957; Layman,
1961; Nash, 1965; Hines, 1971).
Both student and parent groups a ttrib u te d a m a jo rity o f items to
mothers, but students a ttrib u te d more re s p o n s ib ility to fa th e rs than
did parents. This may be a re fle c tio n o f the respective experiences o f
these two groups. The students were non-parents, and th e ir ideal a t t i
tudes about c h ild -re a rin g may be thought o f as drawing upon th e ir own
experiences as c h ild re n . The parents had th e ir own parental experience
to form a basis fo r a ttr ib u tio n . Perhaps the g re a te r amount o f primary
re s p o n s ib ility a ttrib u te d to fa the rs by the students was a r e fle c tio n
o f a wish on th e ir p a rt th a t th e ir own fath ers had been more a c tiv e .
Perhaps i t re fle cte d a b it o f naive idealism th a t the parent subjects,
after years o f c h ild -re a rin g experience had abandoned. Both o f these
two groups were in agreement, however, in terms o f a strong emphasis
on maternal domination of the c h ild -re a rin g process.
The mental health tra in ee s, graduate students in so cial work and
school psychology, were w illin g to d iv id e up parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r
48
o n ly a quarter o f the c h ild -re a rin g items. They may be thought o f,
then, o f having endorsed a b e lie f in greater parental sharing o f c h ild -
rearing re s p o n s ib ility . In a d d itio n , over o n e -th ird o f these subjects
b la n k e tly endorsed such a b e lie f, and had th e ir a ttrib u tio n s been in
cluded in the data a n a lysis, the number o f s ig n ific a n tly divid e d items
would have been much less. I t is c le a r, then, th a t these subjects
responded d if fe r e n t ly to the notion o f d iv is io n of c h ild -re a rin g respon
s i b i l i t y than the students and parents. Some o f th is may be a ttrib u te d
to the e ffe c ts o f s o c ia l- d e s ir a b ility v a ria b le s . The mental health
tra in e e s were more so p histica te d in terms of psychological measurement,
and most probably, w ith the whole notion of women's lib e r a tio n , new
lif e s t y le s , and o th e r a ttitu d in a l m anifestations of the c u rre n t socio
c u ltu ra l Z e itg e is t. In a d d itio n , most of these subjects were non-parents
and so, lik e the students, may have been able to bring more idealism to
the a ttr ib u tio n process. One wonders what e ffe c t fu tu re years o f par
e n tin g w ill have upon the a ttitu d e s of these young mental health t r a in
ees.
Another possible o rig in fo r the d iffe re n t approach these subjects
brought to the question: o f c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility , is th a t
through practicum experience, in c lin ic a l s e ttin g s , these subjects may
have been exposed to c lin ic a l evidence o f problems which they may have
f e l t had o rig in s in uneven a ttr ib u tio n o f parental r e s p o n s ib ility .
Despite strong d iffe re n ce s in the proportions o f items given d i f
fe r e n tia l a ttrib u tio n s o f re s p o n s ib ility , a ll three groups o f subjects
produced a consistent fin d in g : The number o f items given prim ary mater
nal re s p o n s ib ility fa r exceeded the number given primary paternal re*
ks
sp o n s ib f1it y . Even the mental health trainees a ttrib u te d almost fiv e
times as many items to mothers as they did to fa th e rs . In a d d itio n ,
the nature o f items which len t themselves to d if fe r e n t ia l a ttr ib u tio n
o f re s p o n s ib ility was s im ila r fo r a ll groups. The maternal responsi
b i l i t y items fo r student and parent samples are v ir t u a lly id e n tic a l,
and the paternal re s p o n s ib ility items fo r the parent sample were a ll
included, but added to , in the paternal re s p o n s ib ility items fo r the
student sample. S im ila rly , the 2k items a ttrib u te d to mothers by the
mental health trainees were a ll included in the lis t s o f the other two
samples and tended to be those items fo r which the students and parents
a ttrib u te d the strongest amount o f maternal re s p o n s ib ility . The same
held tru e fo r the paternal re s p o n s ib ility items. A ll th is p o in ts to
ward a homogeneity o f item content. C ertain items were seen, c o n s is t
e n tly , as under primary maternal re s p o n s ib ility , and c e rta in ones were
seen as p a te rna l, by a ll groups o f subjects.
Upon examination o f the c h ild -re a rin g behaviors th a t le n t them
selves to an a ttr ib u tio n o f maternal ism, i t can be seen th a t these be
haviors tend to deal w ith several d is tin c t lo c i o f a c t iv it y . F ir s t o f
a l l , behaviors which d e a lt w ith babies, in fa n ts , and young c h ild re n
were seen as maternal. So were items that had to do w ith physical care-
ta k in g , p a r tic u la r ly caretaking o f in fa n ts , such as those re la ted to
t o ile t in g , feeding, and care o f an i 11 chi Id . A second group o f items
d e a lt w ith might be c a lle d emotional nurturanc§, or psychological sup
p o rt. This category included such items as holding and cuddling the
c h ild , singing lu lla b ie s , planning b irthday p a rtie s , and t e l li n g bed
time s to rie s .
These re s u lts r e fle c t an agreement w ith the notion set fo rth by
psychoanalytic theory th a t e a rly m a te rn a l-in fa n t contact Is the primary
fa c to r In determining the content and process o f psychological develop
ment. There was both a tendency to see e a rly in fa n t items as maternal,
and to see the processes th a t are most ofte n encountered Ineeariy c h ild
care as m aternal. In a d d itio n , items th a t d e a lt w ith psychological
support, were also seen as maternal in accordance w ith the psycho
a n a ly tic p o in t o f view (Fenichel, 19*6; Levy, 1950; K le in , e t al 1952;
Blum, 1953).
Items th a t d e alt w ith a r t, music, and dancing were also rated as
p rim a rily maternal. This re s u lt conformed to the sex-role typing data
discussed by several authors (Kagan, 1964; Lunneborg, 1970; Broverman,
e t a l , 1972). A th e o re tic a l basis fo r such a ttr ib u tio n can be found
in the e x p re s s iv e -in s tru m e n ta lity ro le d iffe r e n tia tio n discussed by
Parsons (1955). Females, according to th is d iffe r e n tia tio n , are seen
as more expressive. They are more im pulsive, n u rtu ra n t, a f f i l i a t i v e ,
and more a ttra c te d to the " a r t s . " The tendency fo r subjects to a t t r i
bute prim ary maternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r items th a t d e a lt w ith n u rtu r-
ance and the a rts re fle c ts an agreement w ith th is b e lie f.
Of the items rated as being under primary paternal re s p o n s ib ility ,
a large pro po rtion had to do w ith a th le tic s , physical a c t iv it y and
se lf-d e fe n se . Studentssubjects a ttrib u te d primary paternal responsi
b i l i t y fo r three items which might be seen as the paternal counterpart
o f the emotional nurturance va ria b le s in the maternal l i s t . These were
encouraging the c h ild 's se lf-co n fid e n ce , bouncing the c h ild on one's
knee, and p la yfu l romping w ith the c h ild . Thus, fa th e rs were seen as
being able to give support in a manner th a t related to e ith e r a c tiv e
physical contact o f a strenuous s o rt (as opposed to the m ate rn ally per
ceived holding and cu d d lin g ), o r to confidence and assertiveness. Par
ent and mental health tra in e e subjects did not see the encouragement of
self-confidence as a p rim a rily paternal item and th is may represent
greater reluctance to accept the notion o f confidence and assertiveness
as an id e a lly and e x c lu s iv e ly masculine a ttr ib u te .
There was general agreement between groups regarding primary pat
ernal a ttrib u tio n s fo r items which involved overt physical a c t iv it y .
These, i t can be argued, may be seen as paternal on the basis o f phys
ic a l, as opposed to psychological basis. Thus, subjects may have f e l t
less p re ju d ic ia l in making a prim ary paternal judgement fo r an item
such as teaching the c h ild se lf-d e fe n se (on the basis th a t men are phys
ic a lly stronger) than fo r an item such as a dm in istering use o f the car
(which involves a rational, decision-m aking process).
The items fo r which students, but not the other subjects, made
primary paternal a ttrib u tio n s d e a lt w ith the a d m in istra tio n o f money,
such as determining size o f allowance and dispensing allowance, and
guidance re la tin g to career choice, drugs, a lco h o l, and tobacco. The
amount of implied physical a c t iv it y seemed to have some bearing upon
d ir e c tio n a lity o f a ttr ib u tio n s . For example, w h ile a v a ria b le such as
taking a walk w ith the c h ild was rated as e s s e n tia lly shared, taking a
hike w ith the c h ild was rated as p a te rn a l. S im ilia r ly , w h ile playing
indoors w ith the c h ild was seen as m aternal, p la y fu l, a c tiv e romping
was seen as paternal.
52
Tfjius, some support was given to b e lie f In the notion o f masculine in
s tru m e n ta lity (Parsons, 1955). Males, according to th is theory, are
seen as g o a l-o rie n te d (career-guidance), mechanical, a c tiv e , and asser
tiv e .
Career guidance may have been seen by student subjects as f a llin g ;
p rim a rily under paternal re s p o n s ib ility due to a perception o f greater
importance and relevance o f careers to males than to females. Guidance
about use and bbuse o f a lco h o l, drugs, and smoking were also seen as
p a te rn a l, despite th a t these were re la te d to physical w e ll-b e in g , an
area th a t had otherwise been viewed as m aternal. This may have been
due to the fa c t th a t abuse o f drugs and alcohol may have connected w ith
aggressive a c tin g -o u t, and hence, m a scu lin ity. In a d d itio n , abuse o f
these substances may have been perceived as more common among males,
and hence more re levant to them.
There is some em pirical support fo r the notion th a t males fin d
physical a c t iv it y a preferable mode o f in te ra c tin g w ith c h ild re n .
Rebelsky and Hanks (1971) found th a t fa th e rs did not in te ra c t v e rb a lly
w ith in fa n ts as much and as sy s te m a tic a lly as did mothers. W hile moth
ers tended to increase th e ir v e rb a liz a tio n as the in fa n ts increased
th e ir v o c a liz a tio n s , the opposite was tru e w ith fa th e rs . In a d d itio n ,
fa th e rs reported fe e lin g uncomfortable In verbal in te ra c tio n w ith th e ir;
in fa n ts , and prefe rred to express fe e lin g s o f warmth and a ffe c tio n |
through a c tiv e , p hysical, non-verbal modes. Fathers also reported being!
uncomfortable w ith young in fa n ts , because they were a fra id they would
damage them through over-strenuous physical a c t iv it y . There was a gen-i
e ra l fe e lin g o f clumsiness among these fa th e rs .
53 :
Subjects tended to view the o v e r-a ll a ttr ib u tio n o f parental re
s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g in a manner consistent w ith much o f the ;
data th a t has been reported regarding sex-role norms.
In a d d itio n , a q u a lita tiv e lobk at the nature o f items th a t le n t
themselves to s e x -d iffe re n tia tio n , showed th a t maternal items tended to
re la te to areas o f behavior described as id e a lly fem inine, such as nur-|
turance, a r t i s t i c s e n s it iv ity , a f f i l i a t i v e behavior, and the general
notion o f expressiveness (Parsons, 1955; Kagan, 1964; Lunneborg, 1970;
Broverman, e t a l , 1972). S im ila rly items th at were seen as paternal
re la te d to such "masculine" areas as aggressiveness, a c t iv it y , mechani
cal a b il i t y , and r a tio n a lit y (fin a n c ia l decision-m aking). There is
evidence th a t ch ild re n do perceive th e ir parents in a manner congruent
w ith the expressive-instrum ental ro le d iffe r e n tia tio n (Dahlem, 1970).
The extent to which th is pattern o f a ttr ib u tio n expressed i t s e l f
in terms o f blame fo r psychopathology was investigated by the psycho
diagnostics questionnaire. Ackerman (1957) has described how blame fo r
psychopathology is a natural consequence o f a ttr ib u tio n o f re s p o n s ib il
i t y fo r c h ild -re a rin g . In the in tro d u c tio n to th is study, th is was
explained in terms o f ro le theory (Sarbin, 1954; Sarbin and A lle n ,
1968) and blame was o p e ra tio n a lly defined as an a ttr ib u tio n o f responsi
b i l i t y fo r negative consequences, contingent upon a p rio r a ttr ib u tio n
o f re s p o n s ib ility fo r a s p e c ific area o f behavior.
Thus, i f mothers are perceived as responsible fo r a greater seg
ment o f c h ild -re a rin g than fa th e rs , one should expect them to be blamed
fo r a greater amount o f psychopathology than fa th e rs . In a d d itio n , i f ;
a ttr ib u tio n s o f re s p o n s ib ility re la te to sex-typing, one should expect
5* + ;
th is re la tio n s h ip to be expressed in patterns o f b la m e -a ttrib u tio n .
The re s u lts o f the second study showed f i r s t o f a l l , that subjects
tended to d ire c t a major p roportion o f the blame fo r psychopathology to
parents. The only exception to th is pattern was mental re ta rd atio n ,
fo r which subjects a ttrib u te d only a small proportion o f parental blame.
This is qu ite p o ssib ly due to the fa c t th a t re ta rd atio n is perceived as
in vo lvin g a sizab le amount o f organic e tio lo g y . Though care was made
to emphasize the p sych o lo g ica l, as opposed to physiological aspects o f
case h is to rie s , i t is q u ite possible th a t subjects persisted in viewing
re ta rd a tio n as an organic fa c to r. For the remainder o f the pathologies,
subjects o f a ll groups tended to place a large proportion of the blame
upon parents. Thus, the amount o f skewing o f re su lts suggested by
Kellerman's (197*0 o rig in a l methodology o f requesting an assumption of
100% parental blame, might be thought o f as not th a t severe fo r these
1*+ pathologies.
Part o f the reason th a t subjects a ttrib u te d m a jo rity blame fo r
pathology to parents, may have been due to the absence o f suggested
a lte rn a tiv e s f o r blame. Thus, fo r example, had subjects been offe re d
several a lte rn a tiv e sources o f blame fo r pathologies besides parents,
the amounts o f parental blame may have been lowered. For re ta rd a tio n ,
the organic a lte rn a tiv e may have been c le a rly present, w hile fo r the
o th e r pathologies, subjects may have lacked a re a d ily available a lt e r - i
n a t i v e . The fa c t th a t parents and mental health trainees produced par
ental blame scores lower than students may be seen as supporting th is
in th a t parents, by v ir t u r e o f th e ir own experience as c h ild -re a re rs ,
and mental health tra in e e s , through th e ir g re ater c lin ic a l and th e o re t
55
ical s o p h is tic a tio n , may have had more a lte rn a tiv e s to work w ith . In
a d d itio n , parents lower blame scores may be seen as defensiveness on
th e ir p a rt. Being parents themselves, they may have id e n tifie d more
clo s e ly w ith the notion of parental blame than did students who in turn
may have been u t iliz in g the parental blame a ttr ib u tio n as a means o f
d ire c tin g blame against th e ir own parents. Nevertheless, a ll three
groups a ttrib u te d substantial amounts o f blame to parents fo r psycho
pathology.
When i t came to d iv id in g th is blame between parents, however, sub
je c ts showed a marked reluctance to make such a d is tin c tio n . This was
greatest fo r those variables viewed as " n e u tra l" , or unrelated to sex-
ty p in g , and less fo r s e x -ty p in g -re la te d pathologies. In a d d itio n , stu
dents were the most lik e ly to engage in d if fe r e n t ia l a ttr ib u tio n , f o l
lowed by parents and mental health tra in e e s . This may also be explained
in terms o f defensiveness, and c h ild -re a rin g s o p h is tic a tio n on the part
o f parents, and in terms o f c lin ic a l s o p h is tic a tio n and social d e sira
b i l i t y on the pa rt of mental health tra in e e s .
Nevertheless, when d if fe r e n t ia l judgements were made, they con
formed clo s e ly to expectations regarding se x-typ ing . Of those students
who saw f i t to d iv id e up the "fe m in in e " pathologies, over s ix times as
many saw them as maternal ra the r than p a te rn a l. For at least two o f
these, the m a jo rity o f subjects saw blame as maternal (obesity and
thumbsucking). S im ila rly , o f parent subjects who divided blame between
parents, over fo u r times as many saw the fem inine pathologies as mater
n a lly , as opposed to p a te rn a lly blamed. Obesity was seen by the major
ity o f subjects as m aternally blamed. The p a tte rn is id e n tic a lly re
versed fo r the masculine v a ria b le s . Of the student subjects who d i
vided blame fo r these pathologies, over fiv e times as many viewed them
as p a te rn a lly , as opposed to m aternally blamed. For the parents sub
je c ts , the ra tio n was almost s ix to one.
T h is, coupled w ith the fa c t th a t the p ro p o rtio n o f subjects in
both groups who viewed blame as equal was lower fo r both groups o f sex-
typ e d-relate d pathologies than f o r the neutral path olo gies, lends cre
dence to a re la tio n s h ip between sex-typing and d ir e c t io n a lity o f'p a r
ental blame fo r psychopathology.
The reluctance on the part o f many subjects to assign d iffe r e n tia l
blame may have been due to a c e rta in amount of s o p h is tic a tio n w ith re
la tio n s h ip to the e tio lo g y o f psychopathology, in a d d itio n to s o c ia l-
d e s ir a b ility fa c to rs . The numerical blame scores o f the present student
subjects were lower, a lb e it s im ila r, to those o f Kellerm an's (197*0
o rig in a l subjects. This may have been due to the several fa c to rs , in
cluding possible skewing e ffe c ts o f the o rig in a l methodology, d i f f e r
ences between the two subject groups in terms o f conservatism - the
o rig in a l subjects were from the U n iv e rs ity o f Southern C a lifo rn ia , and
may have been more conservative than those from C a lifo rn ia State Univer
s it y , and to the possible mediating e ffe c ts o f tim e. The o rig in a l study
was conducted over a year ago, and i t is possible th a t during th a t time
the e ffe c t o f p u b lic exposure to the women's lib e ra tio n movement and
other " lib e r a liz in g " forces may have reduced tendencies to a ttr ib u te
d if fe r e n t ia l blame fo r psychopathology. Nevertheless, the p atterns o f
blame were s im ila r fo r both groups.
Although the m a jo rity o f subjects assigned equal blame fo r the
"n e u tra l" p athologies, o f the proportion o f subjects who made a d i f f
e re n tia l judgement (ranging from about seven to ]k per cent fo r the
student and parent su b je cts), there wae a marked tendency to d ire c t tn
th is blame to mothers fo r a ll pathologies except t ic s . Parent subjects
a ttrib u te d almost no paternal blame fo r these'neutraT path ologies, and
th is is s im ila r to the fin d in g , from the f i r s t q uestionnaire, th a t p a r
ents saw less c h ild -re a rin g behaviors as paternal than did students.
Students saw three o f the "n e u tra l" pathologies as m aternally blamed -
re ta rd a tio n , asthma, and s tu tte rin g , - w hile they saw t ic s as p a te r
n a lly blamed. This la s t re su lt may be due to the fa c t th a t t ic s in
volves a p h y s ic a lly a c tiv e symptom, and thus may have been seen as re
la tin g to a masculine area of dominance. The fin d in g o f g re ater mater
nal blame fo r "n e u tra l" pathologies is consistent w ith Kellerman'S
(197*0 o rig in a l re su lts and w ith the hypothesis o f g re a te r maternal
blame based upon g reater a ttrib u tio n of maternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r
c h ild -re a rin g . (Levy, 1950; Ackerman, 1957; Kellerman, 197*0.
There was no marked consistent re la tio n s h ip between a ttr ib u tio n s
o f parental blame and a ttrib u tio n s o f divided blame. Perceived sever
it y , however, p a r tic u la r ly fo r the student subjects, tended to c o rre
late p o s itiv e ly w ith parental blame. Thus, there was a tendency fo r
subjects in th is group who a ttrib u te d higher amount o f parental blame
fo r psychopathologies, to perceive psychopathology as more severe.
This may be due to p e rso n a lity c h a ra c te ris tic s o f su bjects, in th a t the
type o f person who might tend to view parents as more responsible fo r
psychological problems may see such pathology as more serious than the
in d iv id u a l who sees less parental blame. Such subjects may be operating
58 ;
out o f a more dogmatic co g n itiv e system which would tend to block out -
a lte rn a tiv e sources fo r blame. There is no em pirical evidence fo r th is ,
however, and i t remains a hypothesis to be explored. Another explana
tio n fo r the p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n between parental blame and perceived
s e v e rity might be in terms o f c o g n itive dissonance (Festinger, 1957).
Judgements o f perceived s e v e rity follow ed a ttr ib u tio n s 'o f parental
blame. In d iv id u a ls who a ttrib u te d a great deal o f parental blame fo r
pathologies may have been attem pting to ju s t if y th e ir high a ttr ib u tio n :
by making a judgement o f high s e v e rity . A judgement o f high perceived
s e v e rity might be seen as making a judgement as to the importance of
the judgemental issue a t hand, and th is might be seen as helping to
j u s t i f y a previous a ttr ib u tio n o f blame. On the other hand, dissonance
theory could very w ell p re d ic t the opposite outcome, in th a t individuals
who made high a ttrib u tio n s o f parental blame might have attempted to
j u s t i f y t h e ir behavior by m inim izing its consequences, th a t is , by per
ce ivin g i t as less serious. This question is one tha t requires fu rth e r
research.
Parent subjects tended to view psychopathology as more severethan
did e ith e r students o r mental health tra in ee s. This may be explained
in terms o f personal relevance. The other two groups were non-parents,
and thus, the issue o f having a c h ild w ith problems may very w ell have
made less personal relevance to them. The parent, however, a c tiv e ly
involved in the process o f c h ild -re a rin g , and perhpas, experiencing
ra is in g a c h ild w ith various problems, the issue o f s e v e rity becomes
much stron ger in terms of involvement and immediacy.
The two pathologies th a t students saw as most severe were ob esity :
59
and a th le tic incompetence, and these may be thought o f as representing
areas that are o f g re ater personal relevance to them than to parents,
in th a t they involve physical and social a ttra c tiv e n e s s .
The fin d in g th a t the mental health tra in e e s tended to view the
p ath clcg r e s as the lea st 3 c v c t g o f a ll three 5 ubjact groups may be due
to the fa c t th a t as new tra in e e s in fie ld s which involve remediation of
psychopathology, they may have been re fle c tin g th e ir own fe e lin g s of
hopefulness and competence in dealing w ith these problems. Thus a
lowered perception o f s e v e rity fo r these subjects may have been involved
in fe e lin g s o f p o te n tia l mastery over them. I t would be in te re s tin g to
lo n g itu d in a lly compare these in d ivid u a ls' ra tin g s o f s e v e rity a fte r they
have been involved fo r several years in th e ir chosen professions, to
see whether or not th e ra p e u tic experiences mediate such perceptions o f
s e v e rity . S im ila rly , a lo n g itu d in a l comparison of the se ve rity ratings
o f students a fte r they have been a c tiv e ly involved as parents in the
process of c h ild -re a rin g would lend inform ation relevant to the e ffe c ts
o f such experience upon perception o f s e v e rity .
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY
An attempt was made to o b ta in data regarding a ttitu d e s o f students,
parents, and mental health trainees as they re la te d to the a ttr ib u tio n
o f parental re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g , a ttrib u tio n s o f parental
and divided parental blame fo r psychopathology, and perceived s e v e rity
o f psychopathology.
Support was found fo r the hypothesis th a t mothers would be a t t r i
buted primary r e s p o n s ib ility fo r more c h ild -re a rin g behaviors than
would fa th e rs . Students and parents made divided re s p o n s ib ility a ttri.-.
butions fo r a m a jo rity o f items, and a ttrib u te d shared re s p o n s ib ility
fo r a m in o rity o f items, w h ile the mental health trainees reversed th is
p a tte rn . Parents tended to a ttr ib u te primary paternal re s p o n s ib ility
fo r fewer items than did students.
D ifferences between groups were explained in terms o f social d e sir
a b il i t y v a ria b le s , psychological s o p h is tic a tio n , and the p o te n tia l
e ffe c ts o f parent and c h ild ro le s and parenting experience upon
a ttrib u tio n s o f r e s p o n s ib ility .
Items were analyzed regarding content and tendencies to be con
sidered m aternal, p a te rn a l, or shared, in terms o f primary re sponsib i1-
i t y . Results were explained in terms o f sex-typing and status a t t r i
bution o f c h ild -re a rin g items. The th e o re tic a l notions underlying the
60
hypothesis o f g re a te r maternal re s p o n s ib ility fo r c h ild -re a rin g were
discussed in terms o f so cia l norms, ro le thoery, social power theory,
psychoanalytic th e o ry, and so cial learning theory.
Subjects tended to a ttr ib u te a m a jo rity of the to ta l blame fo r
psychopathologies to parents w ith the exception o f mental re ta rd a tio n .
There was reluctance, however, on the part o f a large proportion o f
subjects, to d iv id e up th is blame d if f e r e n t ia lly between mothers and
fa th e rs . Numerical d if f e r e n t ia l blame scores were lower than those
reported in a previous study. This d iffe re n c e was explained in terms
o f possible sample d iffe re n c e s , g re ater so p h istica tio n on the p a rt of
current subjects regarding se x-typ ing , and the possible skewing e ffe c ts
o f previous methodology, which asked subjects to assume to ta l parental
blame fo r psychopathologies.
Though a good deal o f the subjects did not assign d if fe r e n t ia l
blame fo r psychopathology, there was s t i l l evidence in support o f the
notion o f sex-typing and se x -ro le stereotypes as they related to blame
a ttrib u tio n s . The p ro p o rtio n o f subjects who a ttrib u te d equal blame
was greatest fo r those pathologies constructed so as not to re la te to
ideal masculine or fem inine c h a ra c te ris tic s . The proportion o f subjects
a ttr ib u tin g primary maternal blame was greatest fo r those pathologies
constructed so as to re la te to ideal feminine areas o f behavior, and
the proportion o f subjects a ttr ib u tin g primary paternal blame was
greatest fo r those pathologies constructed so as to re la te to ideal
masculine areas o f behavior. This was tru e fo r both student and parent
samples, although students tended to a ttr ib u te a greater amount o f
divided blame than d id parents. Mental health trainees tended to make
62
a ttrib u tio n s o f equal blame. D ifferences between subject groups were
explained in terms o f d iffe r e n tia l c h ild -re a rin g experience, relevance
o f pathology, and psychological s o p h is tic a tio n .
Parents tended to perceive psychopathology as being more severe
than e ith e r students o r mental health tra in e e s . This d iffe re n c e was
explained in terms o f involvement and personal relevance o f pathology
to parents. The fin d in g th a t mental health train ee s perceived psycho
pathology as less severe than e ith e r students or parents, was explained
in terms o f the e ffe c ts o f c lin ic a l experience, p a r tic u la r ly as i t re
lated to fe e lin g s o f mastery and hope regarding psychological problems.
There were s ig n ific a n t p o s itiv e c o rre la tio n s between a ttrib u tio n s
o f parental blame and perceived s e v e rity fo r the student sample, and to
a lesser e x te n t, fo r the parent sample. This was explained in terms o f
possible p e rs o n a lity va riab les which influenced judgement regarding
blame and s e v e rity , and in terms o f c o g n itiv e dissonance.
The o v e r-a ll p ic tu re presented by the data obtained in the cu rren t;
study is one o f gre a ter a ttrib u tio n o f c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility to
mothers than fa th e rs , w ith differences shown between mental health
trainees and laymen, both students and parents. This d iffe re n c e between
groups c a rrie d over to data re la tin g to blame a ttr ib u tio n . Evidence
was found f o r a re la tio n s h ip between sex-typing and a ttrib u tio n s o f
parental re s p o n s ib ility and blame. Students and parents presented
s im ila r patterns o f a ttr ib u tio n . This casts some doubt as to whether
a ttitu d e s regarding c h ild -re a rin g re s p o n s ib ility and sex-typing have
s ig n ific a n tly changed among laymen, and points out p o te n tia l areas o f
d iffe re n c e between laymen and mental health p ro fession als w ith respect
63
to desired patterns o f c h ild -re a rin g .
64
Table 1
Demographic Data on Three S ubject Comparison Groups
Students Parents Mental Health Trainees
1. Number o f Subjects 4-9 31
2. Age
a. Mean (years) 19.3 34.8
b. Median " 18.7 33.8
3. Sex
a. % males 39.8 29.1
b. % females 60.2 70.9
4. M arital status
a. N sin g le 48
b. N married 1 28
c. N divorced — 2
d. N widowed — 1
5. Years married
a. Mean 0.1 12.4
b. Median 0.0 9.6
6. Number o f ch ild re n
a. Mean 0.0 2.2
b. Median 0.0 2.1
7. Education
a. Mean years school 12.9 14.5
comp 1eted
b. Median years school 12.6 13.8
comp 1eted
20
25.6
23.8
45.0
55.0
12
7
1
2.7
0.0
0.3
0.0
17.0
17.0
65
Table 2
Mean Maternal R esp o n sib ility Scores fo r Three Comparison Groups
Chi Id-Rear Inq Item Students Parents
Mental
Health
Trainees
1. Planning n u tr itio n and d ie t o f c h ild 76.9 86.1
67.3
2. Arranging c h ild 's b irth d a y p a rtie s 76.6
76.3
65.0
3. Arranging dancing lessons fo r c h ild 74.9 78.9
60.0
4. Teaching c h ild how to make bed 73.2 73.1 62.7
5. Changing so ile d d ia p e r, washing I t 72.9
78.2 61.2
6. Making baby's formula 72.4 79.4 61.9
7. Buying clothes fo r baby 71.8 77.9
60.0
8. Diapering baby 70.3 72.7 62.7
9. T o ile t tra in in g young c h ild 70.3
76.6 57.7
10. Singing lu lla b y to c h ild 70.0 68.2 56.9
11. Taking c h ild to school on f i r s t day 69.9
80.6 55.4
12. Changing wet diaper, washing i t 69.5
76.6 61.5
13. Powdering baby 68.9
71.0 58.8
14. Helping young c h ild get dressed 68.6 71.0 56.2
15. Tending to minor scrapes and bruises 68.3
69.8 52.3
16. Choosing baby s i t t e r 68.1 73.0
57.3
17. Bathing baby
67.6 70.8
58.5
18. Bathing c h ild 67.6 68.2 55.8
19. Taking c h ild to d e n tis t 67.3
72.6 59.2
20. Taking care o f s ic k c h ild 66.4 76.1 54.6
21. Taking c h ild to doctor 66.3 72.3 57.7
22. Taking c h ild 's temperature 65.9 69.7 53.1
Table 2 (continued)
_ Mental I
Health
Child-R earing Item ____________________ Students Parents Trainees
23. Spoon feeding s o lid s
66.3 72.3 58.8
24. Arranging music lessons fo r c h ild
64.9 71.5
54.6
25. Feeding liq u id s to baby 64.8 68.0 60.4
26. Burping baby
64.5 62.7 56.9
27. Walking baby in baby ca rriage
63.5 66.5 55.4
28. D rivin g c h ild to school
63.3 68.2
56.5
29. Arranging a r t lessons fo r c h ild
63.1 72.7 58.5
30. Assigning household chores to c h ild 62.8 67.6 52.3
31. Attending PTA meetings
61.5
62.1
51.5
32. G etting up fo r baby's nighttime feeding 61.2 72.2
58.5
33. Giving m edication to c h ild 60.6 62.6 52.3
3k. Helping dress young c h ild in pajamas 60.4 60.6 53.8
35. Teaching young c h ild about hygiene 60.1 61.0 52.3
36. Comfoting and soothing upset c h ild
59.7 55.0 50.8
37. Buying baby fu r n itu r e , baby "th in g s " 59.3 66.6 56.2
38. Rocking baby to sleep 59.0 61.6 56.9
39. Amusing c h ild who is i l l 58.2
65.3 52.3
40. Playing indoors w ith young c h ild
57.9 57.3 51.5
41. Reading to chi 1d 57.0 52.4 50.0
42. Buying toys fo r c h ild
56.9
60.0
51.5
43. Holding and cuddling c h ild 56.8 56.6 53.1
44. T e llin g c h ild bedtime s to rie s
55.7 50.5
50.0
45. Teaching c h ild how to read
55.3 55.3
50.0
Table 2 (continued)
67
MentaI I
Health
Child-Rearing Item Students Parents Traine<
46. Determining c h ild 's bedtime 55.0 60.0 50.8
47. Babbling back when baby makes sounds 54.6 54.4 50.8
48. Preparing c h ild fo r minor surgery 54.6 54.5 51.5
49. Teaching young c h ild to walk 54.6 60.2
53.1
50. Selecting g if t s fo r c h ild 54.6 63.1 51.5
51. Selecting books fo r c h ild 54.6 60.0 50.8
52. Teaching c h ild to ta lk 54.5 58.5 51.5
53. Selecting toys fo r c h ild 5^.4
58.5 51.5
54. A dm inistering use o f telephone 54.1 58.1 53.1
55. Tucking c h ild in a t n ig h t 54.0
53.9 53.1
56. Selecting c h ild 's playmates 53.6 63.4 53.3
57. Teaching c h ild about manners 53.6 51.8 50.8
58. Helping c h ild w ith English homework 53.2 52.0 50.8
59. Selecting day o r summer camp fo r c h ild 52.0 60.8 48.1
60. Kissing c h ild goodnight 52.0
49.7 52.3
61. Dealing w ith c h ild 's c u r io s ity 51.6 51.5
50.0
62. Seeking psychological help fo r c h ild 51.5 54.7 51.5
63. Giving emergency f i r s t aid to c h ild 51.0 59.8 50.0
64. Providing m a teria l warmth fo r c h ild 50.6 52.6 50.0
65. Tutoring c h ild in school subjects 50.6 52.6 49.2
66. Taking c h ild to the movies 50.5
51.6 50.0
67. Taking c h ild to the 200
50.4 44.9 48.5
68. Taking a walk w ith c h ild 50.3 52.3
50.0
68
Table 2 (continued)
Chi Id-Rearinq Item Students Parents
Mental
Health
Trainees
69. Teaching c h ild about death 50.3
50.0 50.8
70. Teaching c h ild about r e lig io n 50.3 50^0 50.0
71. Teaching c h ild about sex 50.2 52.4 50.8
72. Helping c h ild deal w ith fears 49.9
51.0
51.5
73. Teaching c h ild about pet care 49.1 49.4 50.0
74. Teaching c h ild about race, p rejudice 49.0 50.0 50.0
75. Spanking c h ild fo r misbehavior 49.3 49.4 50.0
76. Scolding c h ild fo r misdeed 48.3 51.6 50.0
77. Signing c h ild 's re p ort card 48.1
54.7
50.8
78. Encouraging c h ild 's se lf-co n fid e n ce 48.1 50.0 50.0
79. Taking c h ild to the circus 47.9
48.1 49.2
80. Playing outdoors w ith young c h ild 47.9
56.0
51.5
81. Teaching c h ild about drugs and alcohol 47.3 50.5
49.2
82. Teaching c h ild to save money 47.1
48.4 49.2
83. Guiding c h ild about career 47.1 48.9
50.0
8k. A dm inistering d is c ip lin e to c h ild 46.8 49.2 50.0
85. Punishing by r e s tr ic tin g p riv ile g e s 46.6 50.2 50.0
86. Talking w ith c h ild about smoking 45.4 48.5 50.8
87. Helping c h ild w ith math homework 45.4 45.6 50.0
88. Bouncing c h ild on knee 44.1 45.0 50.8
8 9 . Teaching c h ild how to swim 44.0
48.7 47.7
90. Determining s iz e o f c h ild 's allowance 42.9 48.6
48.5
91. Taking hike w ith c h ild 39.9
38.8
47.7
Table 2 (continued)
69
Chi Id-RearInq Item Students Parents
Mental
Health
Trainees
92. Dispensing c h ild 's allowance
37.7
45.6 48.5
93. Teaching c h ild how to rid e bike 37.7 36.3
44.6
94. P a rtic ip a tin g in a th le tic s w ith c h ild 36.2 41.3 45.0
95. A dm inistering use o f car 35.0 46.4
48.5
96. Teaching c h ild how to d riv e car 3^.7
35.6 46.2
97. Teaching c h ild self-defen se 32.3
34.4 44.6
98. Romping, w re s tlin g w ith c h ild
31.7 33.9 46.9
99. Playing catch w ith c h ild 30.4 37.3
41.2
70
Table 3
Mean P arental Blame Scores (%) For Three S ubject Groups
Psychopatholoqy
Students
n = 49
Pa rents
n « 30
Mental
Health
Trainees
n = 20
1. Mental re ta rd a tio n 22.5
22.8 23.8
2. Learning problems, English 61 .4 64.5
46.6
3. A th le tic incompetence, uncoordination 71.3 70.5
68.0
4. Emotional w ithdraw al, coldness 73.8
61.7
67.8
5. Asthma 59.1 73.1
62.6
6. Aggressive a cting-ou t
81.7 74.3
79.8
7. Tantrums 81.3
69.6 77.6
8. Shyness, p a s s iv ity 70.8 68.6 72.8
9. Thumbsucking 79.7
75.8 72.8
10. S tu tte rin g 60.5
67.2 61.3
11. Enuresis 66.4 69.6 65.0
12. Tics 65.1
68.2 63.8
13. Obesity 88.6 81.0 81.8
14. Rebelliousness, d e fia n t behavior 84.4
77.5 69.3
15. Learning problems, math and science 52.0 54.2 44.0
71
Table 4
Mean Maternal Blame Scores fo r Four Comparison Groups
Students
O riginal
Study
n = 170
Students
n = 49
Parents
n = 30
Mental
Health
Trainees
n = 20
1. "N eutral" pathologies
1. Tics
50.9
49.6
51.3
51.0
2. S tu tte rin g 51.8 49.6
52.7
50.8
3. Mental re ta rd a tio n 51.8 52.0 53.2 50.0
4. Asthma 53.8 51.0 54.5 51.5
I I . "Feminine" pathologies
1. Obesity
69.3
67.0
63.5 52.5
2. Thumbsucking
67.5 59.9
54.2 51.2
3. Enuresis 57.8 56.0 54.3 50.0
4. Tantrums 60.8 53.2 52.8
50.5
5. Emotional w ithdraw al,
coldness
53.5 53.1
52.8 51.5
6. Learning problems,
Engli sh
53.2 52.0 53.2 50.0
I I I . "Masculine" pathologies
1. Aggressive a ctin g-o ut 37.8 39.9
44.2 49.8
2. A th le tic incompetence,
uncoordination
42.2 43.6 43.2
46.5
3. Rebelliousness,
d e fia n t behavior
37.7
48.2 48.0
49.5
4. Shyness, p a s s iv ity
46.9 48.7 49.7
50.8
5. Learning problems,
math and science
45.4 48.2 48.0
49.5
72
Table £ r
Percentage o f Subjects Endorsing Equal, M aternal, or Paternal Blame
For Psychopathologies, Students and Parents
Equal
B lame
S P
MaternaI
Blame
S P
h ’aterna 1
Blame
S P
1. "N e u tra l" pathologies
1. Tics 77.6
93.3
8.1
6.7 14.3 0.0
2. S tu tte rin g
85.7
80.0 10.2
16.7
4.1
3.3
3. Mental re ta rd a tio n
85.7
90.0 14.3 10.0 0.0 0.0
4. Asthma 81.7 90.0 12.2 16.7 6.1 0.0
Mean 82.8 86.6 11.2
12.5 6.1
•*
0.8
I I . "Feminine" pathologies
1. Obes ity 26.5 40.0
71.5 53.3 2.0
6.7
2. Thumbsucking 42.9 60.0 53.0 30.0 4.1 10.0
3. Enuresis 57.1 73.3
36.8 20.0 6.1
6.7
4. Tantrums
57.1
70.0
34.5
20.0 8.2 10.0
5. Emotional w ithdraw al,
coldness
67.3 83.3
28.6
16.7
4.1 0.0
6. Learning problems,
EnglIsh
63.3 83.3 24.5 13.4 12.2 3.3
Mean 52.4
68.3 41.5
25.6 6.1 6.1
I I I . "M asculine" pathologies
1. Aggressive a ctin g -o u t 46.9 70.0 0.0 0.0
53.1
30.0
2. A th le tic Incompetence 46.9 66.7 10.2
3.3 42.9
30.0
3. Rebelliousness
d e fia n t behavior
55.1 86.7
4.1
33.3 40.8 10.0
73
Table 5 (continued)
Equa 1 ,
Blame .
S P
Maternal
Blame
S P
Paterna1
Blame
S P
I I I . "M asculine" pathologies
(continued)
4. Shyness, p a s s iv ity 71.4 80.0 10.2 10.0 18.4 10.0
5. Learning problems,
math and science
75.5 86,7
6.1 0.0 18.4 13.3
Mean 59.2 78.0 6.1 3.3 34.8 18.7
74
Table 6
Perceived S e v e rity o f Psychopathologies fo r Three Comparison Groups
Psychopathology Perceived Severity (0 -100)
Parents Students
Mental
Health
Trainees
1. M e nta l^re tardation 81.0 77.4 68.5
2. Aggressive a ctin g -o u t 86.6 75.2 75.5
3. Asthma 78.6 72.9 59.5
4 . Obesity
68.7 70.1 55.5
5. Rebelliousness, d e fia n t behavior
73.9 70.0 58.5
6. Tantrums
73.1
67.2 62.8
7. T ics 67.6
65.4
64.8
8. S tu tte rin g
72.5 63.8 60.4
9. Enuresis 60.2 67.2 54.2
10. Learning problems, English 65.9 56.2 48.8
11. Shyness, p a s s iv ity 70.2 54.0 58.0
12. Emotional w ithdraw al, coldness 67.8
53.9
67.8
13. A th le tic incompetence,
uncoordination
51.3 53.4 41.5
lb. Thumbsucking 56.8
49.9
46.0
15. Learning problems, math and 48.4 41.6 38.0
science
75
Table 7
S ig n ific a n t C orre lation s Between Parental Blame and Perceived S everity
Psychopathology Students, N = 49 Parents, N = 30
r alpha
1. A th le tic incompetence, .52 .001
uncoordination
2. Enuresis .47 .001
3. Emotional w ithdraw al, coldness .44 .001
4 . Obesity M 3 .002
5. Tics M l .003
6. Learning problems, math and .53 .001
science
7. Asthma .32 .026
8. Rebelliousness, d e fia n t behavior .31 .028
9. Thumbsucking .29 .042
10. S tu tte rin g .29 .042
r alpha
.38 .037
M l .024
76
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Creator Kellerman, Jonathan Seth (author)

Core Title A Multiple Investigation Of Child-Rearing Attitudes

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

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