Late adolescents\u27 and young adults\u27 perceptions of the parent role

Parenthood is arguably the most important social role an individual may acquire, yet one that has no associated structured or mandated training and education. Often psychologists and other child oriented professionals provide consultation to foster and improve parent-child relationships. Yet little empirical research has been conducted in this area to define specifically what a parent conceptualizes his or her role to be. The Parent Role Development Theory (PRDT) is a theoretical guide which can be used to understand an individual\u27s perception of the parent role, how those perceptions develop over time, and how they change and shift in response to the different child development stages from birth to adulthood. Based on this theory, the Parent Role Questionnaire (PRQ) was created to investigate parent role cognitive schemata. The college-age population, specifically late adolescents and young adults (e.g., ages 18–29), is a group which has not been examined utilizing the PRQ. A better understanding of late adolescents\u27 and young adults\u27 perceptions of the parent role would increase psychologists\u27 and other child professionals\u27 appreciation of those perspectives and provide a basis for working with individuals regarding parenting. In this study, questionnaire data was collected from college students at a private, urban university. The PRQ was administered to 127 participants to sample their parenting perceptions. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to determine late adolescents\u27 and young adults\u27 conceptualization of the parent role. The data suggest that these respondents define a parent role which mirror characteristics defined by the PRDT. Like prior research, the results reveal developmental trends involving parent role characteristic importance. Results also indicate that subjects\u27 age, sex, ethnicity and parental status influence some aspects of parent role perceptions. Limitations of the study, as well as implications for professionals and future research, are discussed