Reports of parenting styles were assessed in 100 mostly white, middle-class, 6th, 8th, and 10th graders and their parents. Adolescents viewed their parents as more permissive and more authoritarian than parents viewed themselves, whereas parents viewed themselves as more authoritative than did adolescents. Differences were primarily over the…

High and low SES mothers of one- and three-year-old children (N=104) were interviewed. Results showed that low SES mothers believed that infants acquire basic cognitive skills later and that the introduction of cognitively stimulating activities should occur later than did high SES mothers. (JMB)

Results from this study on mothers' conceptions of child development suggest a complex picture of diversity in Mexican-American mothers who retain values and beliefs from their own culture and take on values and beliefs of the American culture. (PCB)

Examined longitudinally conceptions of parental authority and ratings of parental rules and decision-making among middle- class African American adolescents and their parents. Found that nearly all subjects affirmed parents' legitimate authority to regulate and children's obligation to comply regarding oral, conventional, prudential, friendship,…