The Nature and Qualities of Parenting Provided by Women Raised in Institutions

A repeated pattern of difficulties in parenting is often found in successive generations of the same families. That finding, together with a concern to identify potential adverse influences upon child behaviour and development, was the focus of this study into the parenting provided by women who were raised within institutions. Relationships with their 2- to 3-year-old infants were assessed using complementary interview and naturalistic observational techniques. Differences in parenting styles between the case and comparison groups were on the whole subtle. Ex-care women were relatively less sensitive to their children's cues and, in response to their demands and opposition, exercised control by confrontation rather than by circumvention.