Investigating Parenting Style and College Student GritKelly Dunn, Ed.D.New Student Orientation & Support Programs, Director

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Research Questions

• RQ1: Is there a relationship between a college student’s self-report of parent’s parenting style and a college student’s self-report of grit? To what extent and in what manner does parenting style explain the variance in grit?

• RQ 2: Is there a relationship between a college student’s self-report of parent’s parenting style, self-report of grit, and demographics (gender, admit status, ethnicity, first-generation status, and parent unit description)? To what extent and in what manner does parenting style and demographics explain the variance in grit?

Authoritarian Authoritative PermissiveControl HIGH

Forceful, virtue-oriented using standards, power and punishment

HIGHDirective, issue-orientated using standards, reason and reinforcement

LOWAccepting, affirmative using reason and manipulation

Demand HIGHChildren must conform to disciplines (household duties, orderly conducts)

HIGHChildren should conform to disciplines at their own will

LOWFew demands of household duties and orderly conducts

Rule-related verbal exchange

NOT ENCOURAGEDChildren are expected to follow parents’ words without questioning

ENCOURAGEDParents explain with children the rules; children may voice their opinions if they object to the rules

ENCOURAGEDParents consult their children’s opinions about the rules

Emphasis Obedience, tradition, and disciplines Self-will, rationality and disciplines Parental support for children

Children’s autonomy

RESTRICTED ENCOURAGED NOT RESTRICTED

Children’s individuality

RESTRICTEDChildren’s actions and attitudes are shaped in accordance to absolute, traditional standards

NOT RESTRICTED but DIRECTED

Children’s desires are recognized, but directed in accordance to rational standards

ALLOWEDChildren are free with their own activities and not obliged to obey standards

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Research Design

• Type of Study• Participants• Instrumentation• Data Collection• Data Analysis

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#1: Educate parents of elementary school children on the importance of parenting style and its potential relationship with grit.

#2: Departments of Child, Youth, and Family should consider offering workshops on parenting for grit.

#3: Train K-12 and post-secondary educators to teach in a more authoritative fashion.

#4: Gather grit scores on admissions applications or through the new student orientation process.

#5: Incorporate the knowledge of parenting style into the college admissions or family orientation experience.

Recommendations

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Future Research

• Replication

• Different Populations

• Mixed-Methods and/or Quantitative

• Focused research on grit and ethnicity

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References

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Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95.

Bowman, N. A., Hill, P. L., Denson, N., & Bronkema, R. (2015). Keep on truckin’ or stay the course? Exploring grit dimensions as differential predictors of educational achievement, satisfaction, and intentions. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(6), 639-645.

Buri, J. R. (1991). Parental authority questionnaire (PAQ). Journal of Personality Assessment, 57(1), 110-119.

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Creswell, J. W. (2014). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101.

Duckworth, A. L., & Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (GRIT–S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166-174.

Karl, K., & Peluchette, J. (2016). Breaking boundaries and leaving bad impressions: Toward understanding workplace encounters with helicopter parents. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 16(1), 93-105.

Love, K. M., & Thomas, D. M. (2014). Parenting styles and adjustment outcomes among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 55(2), 139-150.

Miller, A. L., & Speirs Neumeister, K. L. (2017). The influence of personality, parenting styles, and perfectionism on performance goal orientation in high ability students. Journal of Advanced Academics, 28(4), 313-344.

Parenting Styles. (January 10, 2016). In Psych Pics. Retrieved from https://psychpics.com/2016/01/10/parenting-styles-baumrind-1967-1971/