Exploring the Relationships Among Authoritative Parenting, Religiosity, and Adolescent Internalizing Behaviors

The public health issue of adolescent depression and anxiety in association with religiosity and family dynamics has not been thoroughly established. This study explores the associations among authoritative parenting, religiosity (i.e. organizational, personal, and family), parent-child connectedness, and internalizing behaviors among adolescents. Data are from 325 adolescents ages 13 to 18 and caregiver dyads participating in the Flourishing Families Project, Wave V. A path model demonstrated that authoritative parenting encouraged connectedness between caregivers and adolescents. Parent-adolescent connectedness was associated with personal and organizational religious incongruencies. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Objectives

To evaluate the effectiveness of authoritative parenting and religiosity on adolescents’ internalizing behaviors
To analyze religious practices on teen internalizing behaviors from a family perspective
To demonstrate the support families, provide through connectedness and religiosity to protect teens against/from internalizing behaviors

Couples Who Pray Together… Are Better Parents Together? Exploring Mindfulness as a Mediator Between Couple Prayer and Parenting Behavior

Prayer is an important part of life for religious individuals that has a lasting influence on individual characteristics, couple relationships, and family processes.  While scholars acknowledge the role of prayer in family life, little is understood about why prayer influences families, and specifically parenting.  Given this gap in the literature, the goal of the present study was to explore mindfulness as a potential mediator between prayer and parenting.  Additionally, we examined if couple or individual prayer was more salient in this process.  Participants included 236 couples with children at home.  Path analysis was performed to examine mindfulness as a potential mediator.  Results indicated that mindfulness does indeed act as a mediator between couple prayer and parenting quality. 

Objectives

1. Explore the role of prayer in mindfulness2.   Determine if couple or individual prayer plays a more important role in the development of mindfulness.   3.  Explore the role of mindfulness in parenting

Corporal Punishment and the Intersection of Military Culture, Religion, and Religiosity

Although corporal punishment is a widely accepted form of child discipline in the United States, little is known about differences concerning attitudes toward the use of corporal punishment among subcultures within the United States. A 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 factorial vignette design examined whether sex, ethnicity, education, parental status, religion, religiosity, and culture affect attitudes toward corporal punishment, and whether the effects of those factors varies across subgroups. Hierarchical binary logistic regression models assessed the effect contextual variables had on respondents’ support for using corporal punishment, and whether respondents would use it on their own child.

Objectives

At the end of my presentation, audience members will be able to do the following:Identify the difference in attitudes among religious and non-religious study participants.Identify the difference in attitudes between military and general population study participants.Describe the percentage of variance explained by the study respondent characteristics.Determine whether religion and religiosity influence the attitudes toward the use of corporal punisment among the study participants.

The Influence of Religiously Unaffiliated Parents ("Non-Parents") on the Religiosity and Development of Children: A Systematic Review of Literature

There continues to be interest in the influence of families on the transmission of religion to the younger generation. The field of Family Studies explores religious continuity across generations. The field of Child Psychology and Developmental Science has reported empirical findings regarding family context as a hub for the religious and spiritual development of children and adolescents. Recently, researches are noting the changing religious landscape and the dramatic increase of the number of religiously unaffiliated adults in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature that addresses the potential impact of the changing religious landscape, primarily regarding the significantly increasing number of religiously unaffiliated parents (“non-parents”), on the religious and spiritual development of children and adolescents.

Objectives

1. Systematically review the literature in the fields of Family Studies and Child Developmental Psychology literature regarding the impact of religiously unafiliated parents on children's religious and spiritual development.2. Evaluate the literature based on theoretical explanations and/or empirical findings that addresses the impact of religiously unafiliated parents on children's religious and spiritual development.3. Discuss recommendations and implications for future research.