Beliefs about Parenting

The exclusive interest among developmental psychologists in the influence of overt parenting practices and behaviors on child development has given way, in recent years, to a broader interest in the experience of parenting. Although parents' ideas and attitudes were initially investigated as a way of better understanding and predicting children's development, researchers more recently have become interested in parents' beliefs, values, and goals as a topic worthy of study in its own right. This volume of New Directions for Child Development brings together researchers who have been at the forefront of this research. The chapters examine, from a variety of theoretical perspectives, the determinants of parenting beliefs and the nature and consequences of those beliefs. The aim of these chapters is to summarize current knowledge of parents' beliefs and to suggest new theoretical and empirical directions for future research. The chapters also focus attention on the context in which parental beliefs emerge and are expressed. Whereas most research on parental beliefs has focused on parents of young children, the issues raised by and the insights gained from these chapters demonstrate the relevance and importance of considering parental beliefs across childhood and adolescence.