The Relation Between Mothers' and Fathers' Parenting Styles and Their Division of Labor in the Home: Young Adults' Retrospective Reports

Abstract

This article reports on an investigation into the relation between young adults' retrospective reports of their mothers' and fathers' division of household labor (egalitarian or traditional) and parenting styles (authoritative, permissive, authoritarian, or disengaged). Participants' own gender attitudes were also tested in relation to parents' division of labor and parenting. The sample included 294 women and men (M =19-years old) who were raised in 2-parent households and came from a range of ethnic backgrounds. When mothers' parenting was evaluated, permissive parenting was more likely among those from egalitarian households whereas authoritarian parenting was more likely among those from traditional households. When fathers' parenting was evaluated, authoritative parenting was more likely among participants from egalitarian households and disengaged parenting was more likely among those from traditional households. The association between fathers' parenting style and division of labor was specific to the division of childcare (rather than housework). Participants' gender attitudes were not related to parents' division of labor or parenting style.