Chapter 5: Determinants of Parenting

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Parenting ______ are variables and pressures that influence parenting behaviors.

A. determinants

B. factors

C. restrictions

D. characteristics

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Categories of Determinants

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of the following influences were NOT included in Belsky’s model of parenting behavior?

A. child characteristics

B. contextual sources of stress and social support

C. situational Influences

D. parental psychological resources

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: A Mid-Level Model

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Belsky and his colleagues believed that ______ played the most important role in parenting behaviors.

A. the child’s characteristics

B. a parent’s personality

C. the family’s social support

D. the parent’s multiple stressors

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: A Mid-Level Model

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. The difference between a typical elementary school in Tokyo and a German “Waldkindergarten” exemplifies which parental behavior determinant?

A. culture

B. socioeconomic status

C. religion

D. parental employment

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. A big assumption in cross-cultural comparisons is that both samples of parents in the study are assumed to be ______ of that culture.

A. independent

B. dependent

C. representative

D. unaware

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Culture

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Parents from lower SES backgrounds are more likely to value obedience than middle-class parents who encourage self-direction. Melvin Kohn theorized that these differences were driven by the ______.

A. insecure parent–child attachment classifications

B. differences in religious beliefs that parents held

C. young age of many low SES parents

D. characteristics valued in parent’s life situations

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Socioeconomic Status

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Marianella is quick to punish her son if he does not comply with her requests. According to Kohn, Marianella’s strict requirement for obedience is likely related to her ______.

A. SES

B. religion

C. history

D. ethnicity

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Socioeconomic Status

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. Obedience and the ability to “stick to the rules” are more likely to pay off in ______ occupations.

A. high salary, executive positions

B. lower salary, manual labor jobs

C. mid-level salary, management positions

D. entry-level salary, professional positions

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Socioeconomic Status

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Mindful parenting refers to the moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental awareness by which parents remain intentional in their child-rearing and grounded in the present moment. From which of the following religions or philosophical traditions does “mindful” parenting originate?

A. Christianity

B. Buddhism

C. Judaism

D. Confucianism

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Religion

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. A meta-analytic review of research across cultures and religious groups determined that religious people shared an appreciation of ______.

A. hedonism

B. thriftiness

C. kindness

D. honesty

Learning Objective: 5-2: To compare the different types of influences.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Religion

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Jason was raised in a religious family, but he quit attending services when he was a teenager. As a new father, he is likely to ______.

A. struggle to parent well because he has left the spiritual path

B. teach his child to be a spiritual, but not a religious person

C. follow his partner’s lead in terms of religious practice

D. become involved in his religious practice once more

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Religion

Difficulty Level: Hard

12. In general, husbands of working wives are ______ single-earner fathers.

A. more involved in childcare activities than

B. less satisfied with their children’s behavior than

C. no more involved in household work than

D. as equally involved in household activities as

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Parental Employment

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. As of 2018, about ______ of mothers of small children in the United States worked outside the home.

A. 25%

B. 45%

C. 65%

D. 85%

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parental Employment

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. Greenberger and her colleagues found that mothers and fathers are equally committed to employers and also share similar levels of job satisfaction. In addition, the researchers found that ______.

A. mothers and fathers feel less stress when both work outside the home

B. mothers feel more stress as they attempt to balance work and home commitments

C. fathers feel conflicted about being away from their children more than mothers do

D. mothers and fathers who work outside the home share household chores evenly

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parental Employment

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. The discomfort or distress that stems from the child or parenting role is labeled ______.

A. parenting stress

B. adaptive demand

C. demand burden

D. caretaker duress

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Stress

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. As a single mother, Fatima typically deals with stressors and still manages to parent in an authoritative manner. After her car broke down, Fatima lost all patience with her son and yelled at him for a minor wrongdoing. In this case, the ______ likely influenced the negative shift in Shannon’s parenting behaviors.

A. ongoing pressure of being a single parent

B. individual characteristics of her son

C. additive nature of stress

D. lack of social support

Learning Objective: 5-2: To compare the different types of influences.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Stress

Difficulty Level: Hard

17. Ji-ae is a single mom and a college student. A friend babysits Ji-ae’s son so that she can attend classes before going to work. The babysitting is a form of ______ that likely helps Ji-ae parent more effectively.

A. emotional support

B. instrumental assistance

C. neighborhood aid

D. social scaffolding

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Social Support

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Assistance from others, or social support, ______.

A. may undermine an individual’s sense of autonomy

B. is only effective when provided by a spouse or partner

C. is likely to encourage people to stay in poverty

D. helps counteract the negative effects of stress

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Support

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Living in a poor, inner-city neighborhood is associated with a wide range of negative outcomes for children. Parents who are successful in this context ______.

A. are active and strategic in preventing problematic child outcomes

B. are fortunate to have children who are not affected by hardships

C. consistently resolve conflicts and solve problems successfully

D. benefit from unique prior learning which improved their parenting skills

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Neighborhood

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Allejandro lives in an urban high-rise apartment in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. His parents have taught him to distrust anyone who is not a family member and they have encouraged aggressive play and independence since he was very young. Which of the following statements best describes why Allejandro’s parents parented in this manner?

A. Allejandro’s parents failed to understand the importance of teaching their son to be kind and compassionate.

B. These child-rearing choices maximized the likelihood that Allejandro would survive in this “war zone” environment.

C. Allejandro’s mother, a take-charge individual, made these child-rearing decisions to raise a son she could be proud of.

D. Sadly, Allejandro’s parents cared little about him and hoped for a time when their parenting responsibilities would be finished.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Neighborhood

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Parental attitudes shape the behaviors of mothers and fathers toward their sons and daughters. For example, ______ tend to place importance on expressive issues like emotion but ______ tend to place importance on instrumental issues like responsibility.

A. mothers of girls; mothers of boys

B. fathers of girls; fathers of boys

C. mothers; fathers

D. fathers; mothers

Learning Objective: 5-2: To compare the different types of influences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Gender

Difficulty Level: Hard

22. “Ghosts in the nursery,” a powerful source of influence on parental behaviors, refers to ______.

A. sad memories of infants lost to SIDS

B. experiences with one’s own parents

C. parents’ fears of parenting ineffectively

D. memories of one’s previous parenting practices

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Prior Experiences

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. Experience with parenting a first-born teenager typically leads to ______ when parenting a second-born teenager at the same age.

A. fears of future misconduct

B. greater power struggles

C. less effective parenting

D. lower rates of conflict

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Prior Experiences

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Mothers who believe they have little power in influencing the behavior of a child are likely to ______ when interacting with the child.

A. be unassertive and irritable

B. work harder to gain control

C. try and reason or compromise

D. attempt to lower rates of conflict

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Cognitions

Difficulty Level: Hard

25. Lila and her son, Jacob, were visiting friends one afternoon when Jacob melted into a terrible tantrum. Lila wondered if he was tired, then thought quickly about what might help him regain his composure. Her attempt to understand Jacob’s experience from his point of view reveals her ______.

A. frustration

B. intellect

C. empathy

D. tolerance

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Personality

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. “Goodness of fit” refers to ______.

A. how well a parent’s actions match with a child’s temperament

B. whether or not a child’s temperament is compatible with their parents’ temperament

C. whether a child’s temperament is the same as their parent’s temperament

D. how well a child adheres to actions compatible with their parent’s temperament

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Child’s Temperament

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Children who are perceived by parents as difficult to manage ______.

A. receive greater amounts of coaching from fathers than do children perceived as easygoing

B. elicit less responsive caregiving from mothers than those perceived as easygoing

C. elicit more thoughtful child-rearing as parents strive to do what is best for their children

D. receive similar amounts and types of discipline as those children described as easygoing

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Child’s Temperament

Difficulty Level: Hard

28. Leaper’s (2002) review provided evidence of gender-based differences in parenting behaviors. Data indicated that parents encourage ______ in boys, but not in girls.

A. hopefulness

B. honesty

C. respect

D. autonomy

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Child’s Gender

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. First-born children typically receive more attention and more pressure to achieve than later-born children. The amount of attention the younger siblings receive is affected by the ______.

A. newborn’s gender

B. newborn’s temperament

C. older sibling’s age

D. parent’s age

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Child’s Birth Order

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. In 2016, about ______ of births in the United States are to women who are separated, widowed, divorced, or who were never married.

A. 10%

B. 20%

C. 30%

D. 40%

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Family Structure

Difficulty Level: Hard

31. In families of four or more children, discipline tends to be more ______ than in families with fewer children.

A. authoritative

B. authoritarian

C. permissive

D. uninvolved

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Family Structure

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. Eduardo and his wife quarrel often and no longer share a warm and loving relationship. Eduardo’s son, Rafael, has an affectionate and close relationship with his father and appears to be relatively unaffected by his parent’s marital discord. Which of the following constructs best describes why Rafael continues to thrive in this difficult context?

A. counterbalance theory

B. spillover hypothesis

C. redirected affect theory

D. compensatory hypothesis

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Marital Relations

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Which of the following variable types was NOT listed as situational determinants of parenting behaviors?

A. transient child characteristics

B. transient parent attributions

C. context

D. transient parent characteristics

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Situational Determinants

Difficulty Level: Easy

34. When Christine played hide and seek with her young son, she shared his raucous laughter and happy mood. Just a short time later when she was on the telephone, his boisterous play prompted a reprimand. This exemplifies how ______ influences parenting behaviors.

A. telephone calls

B. context

C. length of play

D. impatience

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Parenting behaviors in the home ______ parenting behaviors in a more public location.

A. can show considerable variation from

B. are typically consistent with

C. are more child-centered than

D. show no association with

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. Evans, Maxwell, and Hart (1999) studied the effects of crowding on parent–child communication. The researchers found that crowding ______.

A. reduced the number of communications between parents and children

B. was unrelated to parent’s communication with their children

C. reduced the complexity of sentences parents used when speaking to children

D. increased the number of directives parents gave to children

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Short-term goals are a powerful influence on parenting behaviors. ______ are intended to prepare the child for long-term success.

A. Cultural goals

B. Child-centered goals

C. Adaptation goals

D. Socialization goals

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Transient Parent Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Which of the following statements best describes the effect of parental emotions on parenting behaviors?

A. Negative emotions have no place in organizing effective parenting behaviors.

B. Positive and negative emotions are essential because they help organize the parent’s responses.

C. Only positive emotions can undermine effective parenting behaviors.

D. Negative emotions can promote effective parenting, but positive emotions do not.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transient Parent Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Easy

39. Studies examining reactions to child misbehavior and transient child characteristics indicate that ______ is a powerful determinant for choice of response.

A. the parent’s disciplinary philosophy

B. the child’s age and stage of development

C. the type of misdeed that occurred

D. the parent’s child-rearing approach

Learning Objective: 5-2: To compare the different types of influences.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Transient Child Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Hard

40. Parenting stressors appear to have a(n) ______ effect. That is, as new stressors are experienced, the likelihood of a poor child-rearing environment is increased.

A. additive

B. exponential

C. accumulation

D. multiplicative

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Easy

41. When Robert and his wife lived in university married student housing with a young daughter, everyone had a low income, but were hopeful about the future. Financial hardship had little influence on parenting behaviors. In this case, living around other poor students ______ the influence of economic hardship as a determinant of child-rearing.

A. interacted with

B. mediated

C. moderated

D. compensated for

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Medium

42. Fathers are sometimes observed to behave differently toward their sons than toward their daughters. This is an example of a(n) ______ effect between the gender of the parent and the gender of the child.

A. interaction

B. mediating

C. moderating

D. compensatory

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. A compensatory effect of child-rearing determinants occurs when the effects of one ______.

A. variable depend on the existence of effects for a second variable

B. independent variable increase the effects of a second variable

C. positive variable reduce the effects of a second positive variable

D. positive variable are strong enough to make up for one negative variable

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Hard

44. Maternal employment can affect a mother’s emotional state in all of the following ways EXCEPT ______.

A. providing mental stimulation

B. building self-esteem

C. increasing her childcare and home chores

D. leading to guilt over separation from her child

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parental Employment

Difficulty Level: Easy

45. The results in the 1991 assessment of risk factors of parental determinants revealed a correlation of a ______ risk index and a ______ HOME score.

A. high; low

B. low; high

C. low; low

D. high; high

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Medium

46. Stress can negatively influence parents by making them more likely to be ______.

A. irritable

B. withdrawn

C. punitive

D. all of these

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stress

Difficulty Level: Easy

47. Dismissing mothers with depressed symptoms were found to be less warm and responsive than secure mothers. This empirical study used which of the following assessments to uncover this?

A. Home Observation for the Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scale

B. Adult Attachment Interview (AAI)

C. Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS)

D. none of these

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Transient Parent Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

48. As of 2018, the mean age of women in the United States for having their first child is now approximately ______ years.

A. 23

B. 27

C. 32

D. 40

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Other Parenting Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Hard

49. According to a 2016 study published about parent–child conversations after trips to the emergency room, parents were how many more times more likely to warn girls to be careful about engaging in certain activities than boys?

A. equally as likely

B. half

C. four times

D. they did not warn girls at all

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stress

Difficulty Level: Medium

50. Several cross-cultural studies have examined relations between organized religion, ______ (how faithfully religion is practiced), and adult values.

A. conservatism

B. devotion

C. severity

D. religiosity

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Religion

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. Prior experience is NOT a central parental characteristic related to child-rearing.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stable Parent Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. An abundance of research has shown that more than 30% of single-parent homes are headed by men.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Gender

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Mothers, compared to fathers, tend to be more responsive to variations in their children’s play; they are more likely to enforce rules and communicate and play peekaboo-type games.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stable Parent Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Stressed parents are likely to be irritable, negative, punitive, and withdrawn.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stress

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Carol, a mother of two children, has recently gone back to work. Despite the added responsibility, the mental stimulation outside of the house is a positive influence on her parenting behavior.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Parental Employment

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. The four well-documented stable child characteristics that are determinants of parenting consist of child’s age, temperament, gender, and birth month.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stable Child Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. If a parent believed that letting their child cry through the night would decrease their child’s demandingness, even if it were not true, then that belief would mediate maternal sensitivity.

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. A child’s gender does NOT play a role in the expectations parents have of their children.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Stable Child Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. The Smith household is being assessed in order to determine how context influence the parents’ behaviors. The report describes that it is difficult to hear oneself think in the home and that Timothy, the father, is constantly losing his keys. Therefore, the Smith household would score low on CHAOS.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Young fathers and those 45 years and older are likely to have children that differ from children of other fathers.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Other Parenting Characteristics

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Briefly describe how socioeconomic status (SES) is determined.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Socioeconomic Status

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Describe how parental involvement and monitoring might change depending on the time of day and give a specific example.

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Context

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Discuss urban poverty as a determinant of parenting. What are some of the negative and positive parenting responses and consequences to living in this type of environment?

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Neighborhood

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. In what ways does the quality of the marital relationship affect child-rearing?

Learning Objective: 5-1: To explain the types of influences on parental behavior.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Marital Relations

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Discuss the different types of interrelations found among determinants. Give examples of each.

Learning Objective: 5-3: To summarize how determinants can interact.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge | Comprehension

Answer Location: Interrelations Among Determinants

Difficulty Level: Medium