Abstract
The role of parents in socialization process has been a topic of considerable debate for decades. To elicit prosocial behavior in children is a major socialization goal for many parents. Therefore it is very necessary to study factors that bring out prosocial behaviors in adolescents. The relationship between parenting and children‟s prosocial behavior has been studied extensively; however, there have not been many such studies in India. This study focused on the role of parenting styles and the influence of the family income on the altruistic behavior of adolescents in India. Sixty participants both girls and boys under the age group of 13-19 years took part in the study, where they were divided into two groups based on the criteria of their family income, one group under the income bracket of 20,000-35,000 per month and the other, 1-1.5 lakhs per month .The influence of parenting styles on the altruistic level of adolescents was assessed by using two questionnaires, the Parental Authority Questionnaire 30-item version (PAQ) that has three subscales: permissive, authoritarian and authoritative and the Altruism Scale 30-item version (ALTS). Results show that participants with high authoritative parenting style had higher level of altruism when compared to permissive and authoritarian parenting style. Also the study found that there is no significant difference in the altruistic behavior of adolescents of the first income group (M=38.43) and the second income group (M=36.17). Therefore, the study suggests that while the difference in family income of the adolescents has a minimal effect on their altruistic behavior, parenting styles play a crucial role in their moral development.
Highlights
The role of parents in socialization process has been a topic of considerable debate for decades
The main goal of the present study is to analyze the impact parenting styles have on the altruistic level of adolescents
Results showed that parenting styles did have significant effects on level of altruism in adolescents
Summary
The role of parents in socialization process has been a topic of considerable debate for decades. This study focused on the role of parenting styles and the influence of the family income on the altruistic behavior of adolescents in India. The study suggests that while the difference in family income of the adolescents has a minimal effect on their altruistic behavior, parenting styles play a crucial role in their moral development. It is necessary to study factors that promote prosocial behaviors and altruistic behaviors in adolescents. Altruism is defined as “behavior carried out to benefit another without anticipation of rewards from external sources” (Macauley; Berkowitz, 1970) Since they spend the majority of their time at home, for the purpose of this research, we will be focusing on how parents and familial income act as important factors in promoting altruistic behaviors in teenagers. The implication of this research seems to indicate that appropriate parenting play a key role in avoiding future youth problems, and children altruistic development
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