Parental Beliefs about Developmental Processes

A model of mutual influences within the family that includes parental beliefs about developmental processes as a source of parents’ teaching practices is presented. The model was tested by applying a path analysis to data collected on 120 families that varied with respect to educational level and age of parents and number of children in the family. The relationship between beliefs and teaching practices differs for mothers versus fathers, as do the factors that appear to affect beliefs. These differences are discussed in terms of differential parenting experience of mothers and fathers and in terms of possible structures of systems of beliefs.