Trait and State Components of Perceived Parental Differential Treatment in Middle Adulthood

Abstract

Despite its importance for basic and applied psychology, only a few longitudinal studies have examined whether parental differential treatment (PDT) is a persistent or a transient phenomenon, these studies being confined to childhood or adolescence. Based on latent state-trait theory, the present study identified the amount of variance in three dimensions of perceived PDT in middle adulthood attributable to stable interindividual differences (trait variance) and to intraindividual changes (state variance). At two occasions of measurement (2 years apart), 709 middle-aged adults rated how often they and a sibling currently received parental recognition, nurture, and demand to assume filial responsibility. Tests of latent state-trait models for these three dimensions of PDT by structural equation modeling revealed that trait variance represented the largest proportion of the systematic variance in all observed indicators of perceived maternal and paternal differential treatment. Yet there was a considerable increase in state variance for the dimension of differential parental demand for assuming responsibility. Results are discussed with respect to the conditions accounting for the high overall stability of actual and/or perceived PDT in adulthood, and different approaches for determining their role are proposed.

My Pride and Joy? Predicting Favoritism and Disfavoritism in Mother–Adult Child Relations

“…Previous research on within‐family differences in adulthood has generally involved creating measures in which favoritism and disfavoritism are both conceptualized and operationalized as opposite ends of the same continuum. For example, adult children are often asked to rate themselves relative to a target sibling on dimensions such as closeness, recognition, or provision of support (Boll, Ferring, & Fillipp, , ; Boll, Michels, Ferring, & Filipp, ; Jensen et al, ). Difference scores are then created and used to identify which sibling is “favored,” that is, has a higher score than his or her sibling, or is “disfavored,” that is, has a lower score than his or her sibling.…”

Justice in the Family: The Moderating Role of Social Self-Efficacy in the Relationship Between Nonsuicidal Self-Injury and Interactional Justice From Parents

“…In the present study, we examined whether psychological difficulties are associated with low levels of IJ from authority figures in the family, as well. Previously, researchers have explored procedural justice in conflict situations with parents (Brubacher, Fondacaro, Brank, Brown, & Miller, 2009; Fondacaro, Dunkle, & Pathak, 1998; Stuart, Fondacaro, Miller, Brown, & Brank, 2008), parental differential treatment of siblings (Boll, Ferring, & Filipp, 2005; Boll, Michels, Ferring, & Filipp, 2010), and evaluations of equity in inheritance distributions (Drake & Lawrence, 2000) and caregiving responsibilities (Ingersoll-Dayton, Neal, Ha, & Hammer, 2003). In research on the topic of procedural justice from parents, for example, Fondacaro et al (1998) found that young adults’ sense of standing in conflict situations with parents—that is, the degree to which one is treated with dignity and respect by parents—was inversely associated with their deviant behavior and psychological distress.…”

Continuity and Change in Mothers' Favoritism Toward Offspring in Adulthood

“…Despite the growing interest in parental favoritism in middle age and beyond, almost all studies have been cross‐sectional; therefore, little is known about how parental preference may change over time. In the only published longitudinal research on this topic, Boll, Michels, Ferring, and Filipp () examined continuity of adult children's perceptions of differential treatment by parents over a relatively short time period (2 years). Their findings suggest that differential treatment is generally a stable characteristic of relationships rather than subject to extensive change over short periods of time.…”