Private Schools, Parenting, and Behavior SSEA09 Handout

Private Schools and Parenting; Do they have an Effect on College Students? Aaron Schlisser & Lance C Garmon, Salisbury University October, 2009 Poster Presented at the 4th Emerging Adulthood Conference, Atlanta, Georgia ABSTRACT To examine potential interactions among parenting styles, secondary education (i.e public or private schools), and risky behaviors, responses from 184 undergraduates from a Midwestern university were examined in a secondary data analysis Emerging adults who attended a Private Secondary School reported higher levels of both Risky Alcohol Behaviors and Problem Behaviors The only significant differences involving Parenting Style were the variables “Father/Mother Permissive” and “Private School” at least for females These findings could reflect the Midwest demographic that does not have as many private schools (Catholic or otherwise) as an East Coast demographic BACKGROUND Previous Research • Little research exists at all on issues of Private vs Public Secondary School, particularly in regards to its impact in later emerging adulthood • Traditionally, there has been a perceived academic advantage for those attending private schools (Entwisle, 1990), although more recent research methodologies have raised questions about those assumptions (Braun et al., 2006) and those advantages may be strongest for Catholic private schools due to the consistent messages presented both school and at home (Teachman et al., 1996) • Other negative behaviors may be more common among adolescents in private secondary schools • • 12th graders in Catholic rivate chools are at higher risk for alcohol and marijuana use (O'Malley, 2006) • Boys who attended private schools were more likely to gain prestige through being the class clown than were those attending public school (Suitor, & Brown, 2004) Research has examined the issue in other ways than the current study’s approach • Private vs Public Post-Secondary Settings (see Coll et al., 2006; Engs et al., 1996) • Non-American educational systems (see Van Hout & Conner, 2008; Gutierrez & Shoemaker, 2008) • Previous research suggests that there is a correlation between parenting styles and risky behaviors in emerging adulthood, (see Patock-Peckham, Morgan-Lopez, 2007; 2009a; 2009b) • However, there does not appear to be any previous research looking at all three variables —Private vs Public Secondary School, Parenting Style, and Behaviors in Emerging Adulthood—in the same study Hypothesis  That parenting styles (authoritarian, permissive, authoritative) may also have an affect on whether or not an adolescent went to a private or a public school  That the type of secondary education (private vs public schools) may have an affect on a college student’s propensity to engage in risky behaviors METHODS  A secondary data analysis was conducted utilizing participants from a larger study examining the perspectives of emerging adults on their interpersonal relationship quality and incidence of behavior problems Participants  184 (n=184) participants from a small University in the Midwest of about 2,000 students participated in a survey for class credit  Students used in the study ranged in age from 18 to 25 years (m=18.83), 154 (87.3%) of which were 18 or 19 years of age  More females, 90 (54.2%) than males, 76 (45.8%), provided gender data; 18 students (9.8%) did not answer this question  Selection of public school comparison sample  Out of an original sample of 964 participants, 92 went to a Catholic private school  A comparison sample of 92 participants who went to public school was selected after matching by gender and age Measures  Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ: Buri, 1991) has two 30-item sections, one for each parent and is designed to assess parenting style by asking questions about parenting practices as the child was growing up  Mother and father questions are identical, and both sections ask about parental discipline practices, communications, and parenting styles, with the outcome variables revealing the degree of parental authoritativeness, authoritarianism, and permissiveness  Young Adult Self-Report (YASR: Achenbach, 1997) is one of a “family” of measures designed to assess the incidence of behavior problems at various ages  The YASR has 130 questions on incidence of behavior problems such as, “I drink too much alcohol or get drunk” which are scored on a three-step scale, i.e., = not true, = somewhat or sometimes true, or = very true or often true  Another YASR question asked, “How often have you been drunk in the last months?  YASR Scores: A total Score can be computed reflected an individual’s overall level of behavior problems, as well as additional Sub-Scores reflecting level of Internalizing and Externalizing behaviors  Out of the 186 participants, no one completed both the PAQ and YASR questionnaires (see Table 1)  Approximately half (n=88) of the 186 participants only filled out the PAQ questionnaire and therefore only had data from that questionnaire  Another half (n=96) of the 186 participants only filled out the YASR questionnaire and therefore only had data from that questionnaire Table 1: Research Participants Completing each Questionnaire Ns Private Public PAQ 44 44 YASR 48 48 RESULTS A series of analyses were conducted between Secondary School Setting (Private vs Public School) and variables related to both types of Parenting Styles and Risky Behaviors/Behavior Problems Risky Drinking Behaviors: Results were mixed depending upon the type of question  An ANOVA revealed no significant difference between participants from public or private schools and the risky behavior of drinking/getting drunk when ask how many times in the last months  A Chi-Square analysis though was significant when the participant was ask to rate how often they “drink too much alcohol or get drunk” such that emerging adults who had attended a Private Secondary School were more likely to report this was “Very True or Often True” of themselves, X2 = 10.86, p = 004 (see Figure 1) Behavior Problem Scores  A series of ANOVAs revealed a consistent difference such that those from Private Secondary School reported higher levels of problem behaviors in the Total, Internalizing, and Externalizing categories (see Figure 2) Parenting Styles  None of the statistical analyses for Authoritarianism or Authoritativeness parenting styles were found to be significant  However, analyses for a Permissiveness parenting style were found to be significant for both Mothers and Fathers such that children of more Permissive Parents were more likely to be in Private Schools (see Figure 3) Gender Differences  A series of ANOVAs for each of the dependent study variables failed to find direct differences between the genders  Each of the analyses above were also conducted separately for both males and female, which revealed some interesting differences  The significant Permissive Parenting Style differences between those from Private vs Public Secondary Schools were maintained only for females (see Figure 4)  The Problem Behavior scores differences between those from Private vs Public Secondary Schools were maintained for both males and female (see Figure 5)  The significant Drinking/Getting Drunk differences between those from Private vs Public Secondary Schools were maintained for both males and female, X2 = 6.77, p = 034 and X2 = 6.70, p = 035, respectively (see Figure 1) DISCUSSION  Emerging adults who attended a Private Secondary School reported higher levels of both Risky Alcohol Behaviors and Problem Behaviors  There was a significant difference in the amount of alcohol consumption during college between those who attended Public or Private Secondary school, but only for males  There were significant difference in the level of Problem Behaviors reported in college, including both Internalizing and Externalizing behaviors, between both males and females who attended Public or Private Secondary school  The only significant differences involving Parenting Style were the variables “Father/Mother Permissive” and “Private School”  This suggests that the parenting style factor that determines a child going to private school is “Permissive.”  Permissive parents are more likely to have their children in a Private Catholic School  This finding was only true for females  These findings could reflect the Midwest demographic that does not have as many private schools (Catholic or otherwise) as an East Coast demographic Future Research  Use a much larger sample size with students in several Universities located in different geographical regions (i.e., East and West coast, Midwest, etc.)  Use a questionnaire that asks more personal and direct questions regarding risky behavior  Look to see if there is in fact a relationship between private schools, authoritarian or permissive parenting styles and risky behavior REFERENCES Achenbach, T (1997) Young Adult Self Report Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry Braun, H., Jenkins, F., & Grigg, W (2006) Comparing Private schools and public schools using hierarchical linear modeling (NCES 2006-461) U.S Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences Washington, DC: U.S Government Printing Office Buri, J.R (1991) Parental authority questionnaire Journal of Personality Assessment, 57(1), 110-119 Coll, J E., Draves, P R., & Major, M E (2008) An examination of underage drinking in a sample of private university students College Student Journal, Vol 42(4), pp 982-985 Engs, R C., Diebold, B A., & Hanson, D J.1996) The drinking patterns and problems of a national sample of college students, 1994 Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, Vol 41(3), pp 13-33 Entwisle, E (1990) Schools and the adolescent In S Feldman & G Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent, pp 197-224 Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Gutierrez, F C & Shoemaker, D J (2008) Self-reported delinquency of high school students in metro Manila: Gender and social class Youth & Society, Vol 40(1), pp 55-85 O'Malley, P M Johnston, L D., Bachman, J G., Schulenberg, J E., & Kumar, R (2006) How substance use differs among American secondary schools Prevention Science, Vol 7(4), pp 409-420 Patock-Peckham, J A &Morgan-Lopez, A A (2007) College drinking behaviors: Mediational links between parenting styles, parental bonds, depression, and alcohol problems Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol 21(3), pp 297-306 Patock-Peckham, J A &Morgan-Lopez, A A (2009a) The gender specific mediational pathways between parenting styles, neuroticism, pathological reasons for drinking, and alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood Addictive Behaviors, Vol 34(3), pp 312315 Patock-Peckham, J A &Morgan-Lopez, A A (2009b) Mediational links among parenting styles, perceptions of parental confidence, self-esteem, and depression on alcohol-related problems in emerging adulthood Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Vol 70(2), pp 215-226 Suitor, J.J & Brown, S (2004) Avenues to prestige among adolescents in public and religiously affiliated high schools Adolescence, Vol 39(154), pp 229-241 Teachman, J., Paasch, K., & Carver, K (1996) Social capital and dropping out of school early Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58, 773-783 Van Hout, M C & Connor, S (2008) A qualitative study of Irish teachers' perspective of student substance use Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, Vol 52(1), Apr, 2008 pp 80-91 Table 2: Means Scores for Attachment and Behavior Variables Total Sample Males Females Private Public Private Public Private Public M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD M SD Attachment Representations Mother Authoritarian 33.86 6.14 33.77 6.82 34.80 6.21 35.40 6.34 31.80 7.07 33.15 6.31 Authoritative 35.73 6.27 34.70 6.03 35.00 4.91 32.20 5.05 33.75 7.43 37.25 6.79 Permissive 19.77 4.38 23.23 4.95 23.73 4.85 20.60 4.75 22.45 5.21 18.65 2.87 Father Authoritarian 35.23 8.18 33.98 7.78 35.20 6.56 38.64 8.59 32.70 8.42 35.55 6.93 Authoritative 33.42 8.59 33.61 6.84 34.67 5.52 31.79 7.99 32.40 8.04 33.00 8.83 Permissive 22.60 5.88 25.75 6.41 25.33 5.85 24.50 7.31 24.80 7.02 20.00 4.72 Problem Behaviors Total 25.04 11.20 51.29 24.28 52.91 24.26 24.70 11.28 49.80 24.70 25.36 11.35 Internalizing 6.50 4.97 13.79 8.44 13.83 8.59 6.22 5.61 13.76 8.48 6.76 4.40 Externalizing 5.33 3.18 11.56 7.89 12.70 8.66 5.70 3.48 10.52 7.12 5.00 2.92 Shaded Cell indicates significant finding ... Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, Vol 52(1), Apr, 2008 pp 80-91 Table 2: Means Scores for Attachment and Behavior Variables Total Sample Males Females Private Public Private Public Private Public... East and West coast, Midwest, etc.)  Use a questionnaire that asks more personal and direct questions regarding risky behavior  Look to see if there is in fact a relationship between private schools,. .. Public School) and variables related to both types of Parenting Styles and Risky Behaviors /Behavior Problems Risky Drinking Behaviors: Results were mixed depending upon the type of question  An