Maternal Childrearing Values:
Mediating the Link Between Neighborhood Risk
and Mother-Adolescent Relationship Quality
Kathleen Boykin McElhaney, Ph.D.
Davidson College/University of Virginia
Poster presented at the 2004 biennial meeting of
the Society for Research on Adolescence
Baltimore, MD
This study was supported by grants to Joseph P. Allen at the University of Virginia
from the National Institute of Mental Health (R01-MH44934, R01-MH58066, and F31- MH65711-01).
Maternal Childrearing Values: Mediating the Link Between Neighborhood Risk and MotherAdolescent Relationship Quality
INTRODUCTION
Parents living in high-risk, low-income neighborhoods often have approaches to child rearing that are
in contrast with traditional, middle-class parenting behavior (for reviews see Bornstein & Bradley,
2003; Hoff Ginsberg & Tardif, 1995; Magnuson & Duncan, 2002). It is often proposed that parents in
high-risk settings behave in a harsher, more authoritarian fashion towards their children because they
maintain parenting values that emphasize obedience and conformity (Kohn, 1963; 1977; 1979; Luster,
Rhoades, & Haas, 1989; Schaefer & Edgerton, 1985). However, there is little evidence actually
linking parenting values to corresponding parenting behaviors (Luster, Rhoades & Hass, 1989; Miller,
1988). The studies that do exist have rarely examined parents of adolescents, and are typically limited
by an exclusive reliance on self-reported parenting.
Thus, the current study utilized a sample of 177 young adolescents (83 males, 94 females; average age
= 13 years) and their mothers to examine the links between mothers’ parenting values and both selfreported and observed parenting behaviors. It was proposed that mothers’ parenting values – in
particular, her valuing of conformity – would mediate the link between neighborhood risk and
parenting behavior.
MEASURES
Neighborhood Risk. Neighborhood Quality Questionnaire: mothers’ self-reports of the level of risk
existing in their neighborhoods.
Maternal Valuing of Conformity. Parenting Values Measure (Schaefer & Edgerton, 1985; Kohn,
1977): mothers’ self-reports of their values with regard to their adolescent’s behavior.
Self-Reported Parenting Behaviors. Psychological Control – Child Report of Parenting Behavior
Inventory (Schaefer, 1965; Schluderman & Schluderman, 1970): adolescents’ and mothers’ reports of
maternal psychological control. Authoritarian Decision-Making – Parent-Child Conflict
Questionnaire (Hetherington & Clingempeel, 1992; Steinberg, 1987; Dornbusch et.al, 1985):
adolescents’ and mothers’ reports of mothers’ unilateral decision-making.
Observed Parenting Behaviors. Supportive Behavior – Supportive Behavior Coding System (Allen,
Insabella, Hall, Marsh, & Porter, 1999): Valuing of the other person, being engaged in the interaction,
interpreting the adolescent’s problem, and adolescents’ satisfaction with the interaction during a task
in which adolescents asked mothers for help with a problem.
Positive Relatedness – Autonomy and Relatedness Coding System (Allen, Hauser, Bell, Boykin, &
Tate, 1995): Engagement in interaction and validating adolescents’ statements during a revealed
differences task.
RESULTS: EVIDENCE OF MEDIATION
Established mediation using the following 3 steps (Baron & Kenny, 1986).
STEP 1: Neighborhood risk was significantly positively associated with mothers’ valuing of
conformity (r=.28***).
STEP 2: Neighborhood risk was significantly associated with each of the five parenting behaviors(s
ranged from .15 for mother reported psychological control to .20 for teen reported psychological
control, all p<.05).
STEP 3: Entering mothers’ valuing of conformity into each regression equation caused the beta
weight for neighborhood risk to drop to below p<.05 in all 5 models, indicating full mediation in all
cases.
RESULTS: DIRECTION OF EFFECTS
Self-Reported Parenting Behaviors
1. When mothers valued conformity, their adolescents reported that they exercised more
psychological control (see Table 1).
2. Mothers who valued conformity also reported exercising more psychological control as well as
engaging in more authoritarian decision-making (see Table 2).
Observed Parenting Behaviors
1. Mothers who valued conformity demonstrated less successful support during interactions with
their teens (see Table 3).
2. Mothers who valued conformity also expressed fewer positive relationship behaviors while
discussing a disagreement (see Table 4).
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that parents who live in high risk settings place a high value on conformity, and
that this parenting value explains the association between neighborhood risk and a relatively harsh
and authoritarian parenting style. More specifically, mothers who valued conformity were rated as
more psychologically controlling and did not involve their adolescents in decision-making. Further,
these mothers were observed to be less engaged, supportive and validating with their adolescents,
whether discussing a problem that the teen was having outside or within the mother-adolescent
relationship. Finally, the results of this study suggest that a complete understanding of the effects of
the neighborhood context on family functioning requires a careful consideration of parenting values –
and more specifically, how such values might effect parenting behaviors. Future research on this topic
would benefit from examining how parenting values and their corresponding parenting behaviors
might interact over time to affect adolescents’ social and emotional development in both high and
low-risk settings.
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Table 1: Mothers’ valuing of conformity mediates links between neighborhood risk and mothers’
parenting behaviors: adolescent reports of psychological control
ΔR2
Total R2

Adolescent Gender
-.03
Perceived Neighborhood Risk
.07
.04
.04*
Mothers’ Valuing of Conformity
.45****
.19
.23****
Gender * Valuing Conformity
.16*1
.03
.26****
Table 2: Mothers’ valuing of conformity mediates links between neighborhood risk and mothers’
parenting behaviors: mother reports of psychological control and authoritarian decision-making
Mothers’ report of psychological control
ΔR2
Total R2

Adolescent Gender
.03
Perceived Neighborhood Risk
.14+
.06
.06**
Mothers’ Valuing of Conformity
.36***
Adolescent Gender
Perceived Neighborhood Risk

.04
.09
Mothers’ Valuing of Conformity
.22**
.12
.18***
Mothers’ report of authoritarian decision-making
ΔR2
Total R2
.03
.03+
.04
.07**
Table 3: Mothers’ valuing of conformity mediates links between neighborhood risk and mothers’
parenting behaviors: observations of mother-adolescent supportive communication
ΔR2
Total R2

Adolescent Gender
-.05
Perceived Neighborhood Risk
-.09
.04
.04*
Mothers’ Valuing of Conformity
-.32***
.09
.13****
Table 4: Mothers’ valuing of conformity mediates links between neighborhood risk and mothers’
parenting behaviors: observations of mothers’ positive relatedness towards adolescent
ΔR2
Total R2

Adolescent Gender
-.02
Perceived Neighborhood Risk
-.09
.03
.03+
Mothers’ Valuing of Conformity
1
-.27***
.06
Beta weights are presented from the final models to show ns of neighborhood risk
+p<.10, *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001, ****p<.0001
.09**