According to an article in Science Daily, the impact of positive parenting can last for generations. In this first study of its kind, tracking three generations of Oregon families,researchers examined 206 boys identified as "at risk" for juvenile delinquency. Since 1984, these boys have met with researchers every year from the age of 9 to 23. As they moved into adult life, marrying and starting families, their partners and children participated in the study as well.
What the study shows is that negative parenting leads to the same in the following generations not because of implicit learning of behavior, but because negative parenting allows problem behavior to take hold in adolescents, creating a situation that exacerbates a delinquent lifestyle that contributes to ineffective parenting.
Says researcher David Kerr: "We knew that these negative pathways can be very strong.But what surprised us is how strong positive parenting pathways are as well. Positive parenting is not just the absence of negative influences, but involves taking an active role in a child's life."
Parents who were positively involved with their children by enforcing consistent rules, yet remaining warm and approachable with them fostered offspring who were engaged in school and work.
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