Semester
Summer
Date of Graduation
2006
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Cheryl B McNeil
Abstract
Although most child research is conducted with mothers as the primary source of data, results often are applied to fathers. Yet, mothers and fathers engage in different interactions with children and may have varying attitudes and knowledge of parenting. This project compared mothers and fathers on a variety of parenting measures. Participants included a community sample of 80 parents (40 mother-father pairs) and their male child between the ages of two and seven. This study evaluated potential differences between mothers and fathers on treatment acceptability, knowledge of behavioral principles, and observed parenting behaviors. Results indicated that mothers prefer response cost while fathers prefer spanking, though acceptability of spanking was low for both parents. Mothers and fathers exhibited similar knowledge of behavioral principles, but mothers utilized more positive verbalizations than fathers in parent-child interactions. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Tiano, Jennifer D., "Comparing mothers and fathers on acceptability of parent-training approaches, knowledge of behavioral principles, and parenting behaviors" (2006). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4342.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4342