Perceptions of parental control and the development of indecision among late adolescent females.
Late adolescent females (N = 86; M age = 19.1 years) completed reliable and valid self-report measures on their perception of both parents' authority style (authoritarian, authoritative, permissive) and their own tendency toward decisional procrastination. Households where daughters perceived both parents as high authoritarian (n = 32) were significantly more likely to raise daughters with strong indecision tendencies than were parents perceived as low authoritarian (n = 23). Mothers and fathers perceived as high (n = 22) or low (n = 22) authoritative, and high (n = 32) or low (n = 24) permissive, did not produce significant differences in daughters' self-reported decisional procrastination. Results suggest that parental authority characterized by stern inflexibility and overcontrol has the greatest influence on daughters who develop chronic indecision tendencies.
Ferrari
J R
JR
College for Human Development, Syracuse University, New York.
Olivette
M J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001318:Authoritarianism; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010553:Personality Development; D012649:Self Concept