Consistency and Change in Maternal Child-Rearing Practices and Values: A Longitudinal Study

Although developmental psychologists frequently assume that parents change their child-rearing practices as their children develop, there is little research on this topic and virtually none involving parents of adolescents and a longitudinal, repeated-measures design. We examined changes in mothers' reported practices over time in regard to independence and control, expression of positive and negative affect, and disciplinary practices using items from the Child-Rearing Practices Report (CRPR). The CRPR was administered to the same mothers 5 times over an 8-year time period (from when their children were aged 7 or 8 years until they were 15-16 years old). A substantial degree of stability in behaviors and values was noted, even over the 8-year period. In addition, some practices increased or decreased with age, with most of the changes being consistent with prior theorizing and research, as well as commonsense notions related to child rearing.