REVIEW Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting: A Review of Studies in Nonclinical Populations

In this review, intergenerational transmission of parenting is defined äs the process through which purposively or unintendedly an earlier generation psycho-logically infiuences parenting attitudes and behavior of the next generation. A model of intergenerational transmission of parenting is outlined, in which genetic and contextual continuity is taken into account äs well äs grandparenting. Through PsychLit, relevant studies on nonclinical populations have been col-lected, and a narrative review is presented in which strengths and weaknesses of pertinent studies are discussed. It is concluded that the traditional cross-sectional studies on the basis of questionnaires have failed to reach their goals. Observa-tional research and studies based on the Adult Attachment Interview should be regarded äs promising. These studies revealed substantial intergenerational transmission of parenting styles, but their designs preclude definite causal inter-pretations of the variance shared between different generations. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc