Did You Know?

Mothers are more likely than fathers to be involved with their adolescent children, but parental residence also determines the level of parental involvement.

Dan Hawkins (graduate student, Sociology), Paul Amato, and Valarie King analyzed the 1995 wave of the Add Health study to determine the relative influence of parent gender and residence on levels of involvement with adolescent children. The investigators found that while gender is the strongest predictor of involvement, residence also plays a role.

Resident mothers were most likely to be involved with their adolescent children. Among fathers, single fathers who lived with their children came closest to reaching the higher levels of involvement seen among mothers. Adolescents were more likely to report attending religious events and feeling close to their resident parents.

Source: Hawkins, D. N., Amato, P. R., & King, V. (2006). Parent-adolescent involvement: The relative influence of parent gender and residence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 125-136.

Ratings of Parent-Adolescent Involvement Represented as Vectors Through the Two-Dimensional Space

From Hawkins, D. N., Amato, P. R., & King, V. (2006). Parent-adolescent involvement: The relative influence of parent gender and residence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 125-138, published by Blackwell Publishing. Used by permission of the publisher.

Last modified: 02/11/08 | Contact Webmaster