Research Paper on "Illuminate the Influence of Parents and Parenting"

Research Paper 7 pages (2000 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

illuminate the influence of parents and parenting on college-age drinking habits is indeed a worthwhile endeavor as the parenting style one exhibits clearly impacts the development of the child -- even into young adulthood such as the college age (Benson & Haith, 2009, p.281). This is as a result of the fact that the family unit has a tremendous amount of influence on the shaping of an individual's character and habits. "All activities of the human individual start in the family and many of them remain within its realm for a long time. The family acts as the first niche and context for protecting the child and fostering all aspects of its maturation and development. Later the family acts as a launching pad for most initiatives, personal and social, of the child and teenager. The family remains a cornerstone for a new couple's early life, and sometimes for the new families of sons and daughters" (Houghton & Roche, 2001, p.57). All of this indicates that drinking is something which is introduced to the child through its presence or absence via the family culture -- primarily through the parents. Thus, it's incredibly beneficial to determine in the most precise manner possible, how the interactions of the parents and their exact style of parenting impacts college-age drinking habits.

In a quantitative study, one would benefit from harnessing traditional personality theories to ascertain the correlation between parenting styles and college drinking. "Traditional psychodynamic personality theory views addiction as the consequence of developmental failures of ego functions such as the defense mechanisms and superego conflicts… Psychodynamic object relations theory attributes addictions to family disturbances that adversely affected personality development" (Levin et al., 2001, p.118). Thus, a quantitative study would be engaged to collect individuals who engage in binge-drinking at the college level and examine their parents -- testing their parents to determine if traumatic or adverse events happened during the childhood of their parents which may have impacted the full development of their personality. This study would largely revolve around determining the rates and numbers of parents who indicate some sort of personality development snafu and the numbers of their children who exhibit unhealthy behaviors with drinking. Quantitative studies have proved to be of enormous use when it comes to conducting research to better understand the behavior of alcoholics and would no doubt also be illuminating when it comes to this related subject (Silverman, 2009, p.88).

On the other hand, a qualitative study would harness this same concept of an undeveloped or fragmented personality of the parents impacting the drinking habits of the child as they manifest themselves into the college level. This study would revolve around interviews conducted with the parents of college-age children who have early signs of alcoholism or binge-drinking disorder and the study would largely attempt to determine the type and quality of the parents' personality disruptions to determine how those unique dynamics contributed to their children's unhealthy relationships with alcohol. Qualitative studies can also shed light on how other factors, such as advertising, media, parental expectations and responsiveness can impact the onset and frequency of drinking in children (Salmon, 2012, p.300).

1b) Application: Introduction and Purpose Statement: In the last few decades, parenting styles have come under an increasing amount of scrutiny and evaluation as researchers have discovered the impact that the variety of parenting styles can yield over the behavior of their children. Thus, given the consumption of alcohol that occurs at the college level, it's worth examining how parenting styles can impact this very specific behavior. "A parenting style is a cluster of parental attitudes and practices that tend to produce certain identifiable patterns of child and adolescent adjustment outcomes. Research has demonstrated that parenting styles have a significant impact on a child's psychosocial adjustment, achievement level, success in school, and involvement in drugs or alcohol. Thus, parenting styles have been the focal point of many studies that have examined the influence parents have on their children [and vice versa] from infancy to young adulthood" (Balter, 2000, p.455). Given this tight connection between parenting styles and child development and subsequent behavior, the following research question has been formulated:

Do parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, uninvolved) in the Jewish community (Ashkanas, Hasidic, Sfardy) correlate freshman's (18-26) alcohol intake frequency? Consider the best approach

(quantitative or qualitative) to this question.

Thus, this demonstrates that examining how personality theories could impact parenting styles and behaviors is incredibly significant and deserves more exploration. Numerous studies, however, have been concerned with the specific dynamic of parenting styles and child substance abuse, though many have not been localized to the college level. For example, the study "Do Parenting Styles Influence Alcohol Use and Binge Drinking During High School and College?" By Kusmierski and colleagues scrutinizes the parenting styles which are more effectives in getting kids to drink less in high school and college (2001). Likewise, the study, "College drinking behaviors" by Patock-Peckham and colleagues found that specifically it was the parent of the same gender that had the most profound impact on the child's drinking behaviors (2006). Alternatively, the study, "Parenting Styles, Adolescent Substance Use, and Academic Achievement" by Cohen and Rice (1997) tries to flesh out the exact dynamic between parenting styles and child substance use, but is not able to do so with any conclusiveness. A study that was conclusive, however, was "Effects of Family Environment on Adolescent Substance Use" by Johnson and Pandina, as it examined the general family environment in conjunction with parenting styles, finding that parenting marked with hostility and aggression often pushes children to drink earlier than others (1991). Likewise, the study "Parenting Influences on the Development of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence" by Jacob and Johnson also found that the entire family environment as well as the parenting styles, could contribute to early alcohol abuse (1997).

However, despite the groundbreaking research that has been conducted on this issue and the ways that it has illuminated these dynamics, there is a precision and specificity which has been found to be lacking. For example, few studies have looked specifically at the four various types of parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and uninvolved) in the Jewish community and how those different parenting styles manifest different tendencies in alcohol consumption with college freshmen. There simply hasn't been any research which has sought to discover this correlation treating parenting styles with a categorical specificity in exclusively the Jewish community.

Thus, the importance of the study is obvious: the study will be able to both shine a spotlight on child-rearing styles in the Jewish community and how the four distinct parenting types impact a specific behavior in offspring at a specific age: alcohol consumption tendencies during the first year of college.

2a) Purpose Statement, Research Questions, and Hypotheses

College is a very significant time during the life of a young adult, a period which often forms and fine-tunes the habits that they develop later in life. This is why the relationship that college-age students form with alcohol is so influential. "Abusive and underage college drinking are significant public health problems, and they exact an enormous toll on the intellectual and social lives of students on campuses across the United States. Drinking at college has become a ritual that students often see as an integral part of their higher education experience. Many students come to college with established drinking habits, and the college environment can exacerbate the problem. Research shows that more than 80% of college students drink alcohol, and almost half report binge drinking in the past 2 weeks. Virtually all college students experience the effects of college drinking -- whether they drink or not" (niaaa.nih.gov). This quote demonstrates how pressing an issue alcohol consumption can be for college-age students-whether they drink or not. The dynamics become more complicated when one realizes how powerfully parenting styles can impact the behavior and relationship with alcohol that college-age students already have by the time they enter college. Dynamics can become even further complicated when one realizes that being raised in the Jewish faith can add an additional set of complications, expectations and phobias to the mix, making this issue harder to understand and more specific.

In such a case, quantitative methods could really shed light on patterns and tendencies as they develop through sheer numbers. For instance, if greater amounts of authoritarian parents raise children that tend to overindulge in alcohol during their first year of college, this is something that needs to be addressed and understood by society in general. Quantitative research methods will help to illuminate patterns of behavior and the results that such parenting behaviors generate. Quantitative methods provide precision, generalizability and a facility of testing hypotheses (Rubin & Babbie, 2009, p.36).

On the other hand, qualitative methods could help to shed light on the perspectives, thoughts and experiences of the parents and children in the Jewish community regarding these issues. By nature qualitative methods offer deeper insights, help to spark new hypotheses and add to the task of discovery… READ MORE

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