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Gender Ideology and Overprotective Parenting: Examining the Intervening Role of Parents’ Adherence to an Intensive Parenting Ideology

par Lamprianidou, Elli-Anastasia ;Eira Nunes, Cindy ;Van Petegem, Stijn Julien ; [et al.]
Référence Belgian Association for Psychological Sciences, 2022 Annual Convention, (June 2-3: Leuven, Belgium)
Publication Publié, 2022-06-02

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Résumé :

In Western societies, an intensive parenting ideology promotes the idea of parental self-sacrifice and child-centeredness, putting extreme pressure on parents, and especially on mothers. This ideology may bring about parental involvement that is characterized by overprotection, which is defined as a level of parental protection that is excessive, considering the developmental level of the child. Since gender attitudes may shape parenthood, this study aimed to examine to which extent parents’ traditional gender ideology may be related to more overprotective parenting through the adherence to an intensive parenting ideology. We included 177 Belgian parents (104 mothers, 73 fathers) of adolescents (mean age = 16.6, 56.3% female). Parents filled out questionnaires assessing overprotective parenting, adherence to intensive parenting ideology and gender ideology. In the mother sample, intensive parenting beliefs were found to fully mediate the relationship between traditional gender ideology and ego-enhancing overprotection, and partially mediate the relationship between traditional gender ideology and anxious overprotection. In the father sample, traditional gender ideology was found to relate significantly to anxious overprotection but not to ego-enhancing overprotection. No significant relationship was found with fathers’ intensive parenting beliefs. These findings provide information about the way parental gender attitudes relate to parental overprotection, suggesting that intensive parenting ideology is still gendered.