Constructing the child: Relations between parents' beliefs and child outcomes

Abstract

The context of children's development includes parents' belief-perspectives regarding the child, the parent, and their respective roles. Although parent beliefs have received a good deal of attention recently in the developmental literature, the focus here is explicitly child centered, determining whether beliefs, both global and specific, make a difference for the child. A model is presented that describes the relation of beliefs to other aspects of the socialization system. In addition, the processes that might account for the influence of parental beliefs on children are discussed. Directions for further research are suggested, including a proposal that greater attention be given to more fundamental belief-constructs, such as those dealing with the relative contributions of child and parent to the developmental process.