| In spite of their importance to society, few parents receive formal training and many struggle with the responsibility. One source of information for parents are the parents that they see in popular media, but few studies have investigated how parenting styles may be affected by television viewing. Understanding how television programming influences parental behavior may assist psychologists in supporting individuals and couples experiencing parenting difficulties. Bandura's Social learning theory served as the theoretical framework based on an assumption that parenting behaviors observed in family-oriented programs might influence viewers' parenting styles. In this nonexperimental study, influence was examined by categorizing participants according their parenting style and assessing the self-reported influence of family-oriented programs by style category. A convenience sample of 303 parents completed the Buri's Parental Authority Questionnaire--Revised, Baumrinds Typology, regarding the three parenting styles, authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive, a family-oriented television program viewing survey, and a demographic background form. Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlational, and MANOVA statistics. Results showed that certain television programs, such as Super Nanny, American Dad, and Family Guy, influenced parenting styles more than others. This outcome may have been confounded by the lack of participants' awareness of parenting style, however. The study promotes social change by helping psychologists to understand that parents need more awareness of their style of raising their children to increase parenting effectiveness. |
