| Abstract: | Examines evidence that firm parental control promotes effective socialization of children (i.e., promotes self-control and social responsibility). There is an apparent conflict between this research and attribution theory and research, which concludes that salient external control is negatively associated with internalization of standards. A reinterpretation of existing measures of firm control that is consistent with attribution theory is offered. Components of the reinterpretation are as follows: The variable "firm control" may measure the child's willingness to obey rather than the parent's tendency to exercise control; the behavior of well-socialized children may be due to the variables that accompany firm control rather than to firm control per se; deleting firm control from the authoritative parenting package is not associated with less well-socialized behavior. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
