The Relationship of Parental Attitudes of Young Women to Selected Personality Characteristics

This study was undertaken for two specific purposes. Primarily, the relationship between students’ parental attitudes toward child-rearing and their profile of personal-social adjustment was examined. The original form of the Nebraska Parent Attitude Scale (NPAS), composed of three specific factors, was utilized in an exploratory and focusing role to measure parental attitudes. The California Psychological Inventory (CPI), composed of eighteen subscales, was utilized to measure the personal-social characteristics related to adjustment. The second major purpose of this study was directed toward a further validation of the attitude scale. The sample consisted of 184 college women attending the University of Nebraska who were registered for a course in family relations and child development. The majority of these students were freshmen, with an average age of eighteen. Results of this study seem to coincide with the findings of other researchers (Baldwin, Radke, Symonds, Adorno, Watson, etc.) concerning the relationship between parental attitudes and personality development. This sample indicated positive modes of adjustment relative to the Democratic parental attitudes, with all correlations except one in a positive direction. Negative modes of personal and social adjustment were indicated relative to both the Dominant and Disinterested categories of the parent attitude scale which again lends support to previous research. Advisor: Ruby Gingle