IngentaConnect Growing Up Too Soon: Parental Status, Concern for Youth, and Atti...

Authors: Brezina, Timothy¹; Vincent, M. Bess¹

Source: Deviant Behavior, Volume 27, Number 2, Number 2/March-April 2006 , pp. 149-172(24)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

Many scholars argue that the experience of parenting is likely to generate unique concerns regarding youth deviance and sexual morality. Parents, it is argued, are widely regarded as purveyors of social norms, are expected to be a force for law and order, and thus have a special interest in the maintenance of traditional moral boundaries. Yet, unexpectedly, previous studies in this area have failed to detect a parental status effect, with parents being no more likely than non-parents to endorse traditional moral attitudes. In this study, we explore possible reasons for this outcome. We hypothesize that parental status is likely to affect the attitudes of certain individuals, but not others. The experience of parenting is not likely to affect the moral attitudes of “traditionalists,” as such individuals tend to be oriented toward conservative views regardless of parental status. Parental status is more likely to influence the attitudes of “modernist” individuals, who are otherwise oriented toward liberal views of sexuality. Data from a national survey of adults provide qualified support for this hypothesis.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/01639620500468501

Affiliations: 1: Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

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Growing Up Too Soon: Parental Status, Concern for Youth, and Attitudes Toward Sexual Morality