Internal working models of parenting : a dimensional approach to testing internal congruence

Previous research has found connections between early parenting and subsequent relationship functioning. Using an internal working models perspective, this study considered the association between parents' appraisals of the way they were parented as children and their relationship with their child now. In a community sample of 96 parents, three hypotheses were tested using regression analyses: that recalled parental abuse (verbal and physical) would predict parents' perceptions of anger in their relationship with their child, recalled parental care would predict their perceptions of child closeness, and recalled parental overprotection would predict their perceptions of child dependency. The data did not support any of these three hypotheses. However, exploratory analyses revealed gender-specific connections between historical and current relationship perceptions and parenting alliance. Parenting history predicted significant variance in mothers' reported parenting alliance as well as in their beliefs about their current relationship with their child. In contrast, recalled parenting history did not predict fathers' appraisals of child relationship, but parenting alliance ratings did. Factors that limit interpretation of these findings are discussed, particularly the likely bias toward healthy parent-child relationships in this sample.

Local note: "Department of Human Services."