Parents' and teachers' beliefs about adolescents: effects of sex and experience

Three studies examine beliefs that parents and teachers have about adolescents. A distinction is made between category-based beliefs (concerning adolescents as a group) and target-based beliefs (concerning individual adolescents). In Study 1, 90 late elementary and junior high school teachers indica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and adolescence 1990-08, Vol.19 (4), p.363-394
Main Authors: Buchanan, C.M, Eccles, J.S, Flanagan, C, Midgley, C, Feldlaufer, H, Harold, R.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Behavior. Attitude
Beliefs
Biological and medical sciences
Child development
Early Adolescents
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
gender differences
Junior High School Teachers
Parents
Parents & parenting
Perceptions
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Secondary School Teachers
social development
Social psychology
Social research
Teachers
Teenagers
youth development
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Summary:Three studies examine beliefs that parents and teachers have about adolescents. A distinction is made between category-based beliefs (concerning adolescents as a group) and target-based beliefs (concerning individual adolescents). In Study 1, 90 late elementary and junior high school teachers indicated degree of agreement with a set of category-based statements about adolescents. Parents of early adolescents in study 2 (N = 1272) responded to category- and target based statements. Study 3 compares the responses of teachers in Study 1 and Parents in Study 2. Both teachers and parents endorsed beliefs that adolescence is difficult, and that adult can have an impact. Compared to fathers, mothers believed more in difficulty and in the negative effects of biological change on behavior. Parents of daughters believed adolescence is more difficult than parents of sons. Among teachers, amount of experience with adolescents was positively associated with belief that adolescence is a difficult than parents life. For parents, the effect of amount of experience was mixed. Experience had a greater impact on the category-based beliefs of teachers than parents. Possible influences on the origins and modification of beliefs are discussed.
ISSN:0047-2891
1573-6601
DOI:10.1007/BF01537078