Archival longitudinal data were used to examine relations of childhood environmental factors with adult values. Parental style and family socioeconomic status (SES) were assessed when participants were 5 years old. At age 31, participants completed the Rokeach Value Survey. Results indicated that adults focused on conformity values were more likely to have restrictive parents and to have been raised in lower SES families. Age-31 self-direction values were negatively correlated with parental restrictiveness at age 5, and age-31 security values were negatively correlated with parental warmth at age 5. Results with parenting variables remained significant after controlling for both childhood and concurrent SES. The pattern of findings is consistent with organismic-based theories, which suggest that the manner in which environments support or hinder need satisfaction influences individuals’ value development.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abramson, P. R. , & Inglehart, R. (1995). Value change in global perspective. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
2.
Baron, R. M. , & Kenny, D. A. (1987). The moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
3.
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology Monograph, 4, 1-103.
4.
Braithwaite, V. A. , & Scott, W. A. (1991). Values. In J. P. Robinson, P. R. Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological attitudes: Volume 1 (pp. 661-753). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
5.
Cohen, P. , & Cohen, J. (1996). Life values and adolescent mental health. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
6.
Darling, N. , & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: An integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113, 487-496.
7.
Deci, E. L. , & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
8.
Feather, N. T. (1992). Values, valences, expectations, and actions. Journal of Social Issues, 48, 109-124.
9.
Feather, N. T. (1995). Values, valences, and choice: The influence of values on the perceived attractiveness and choice of alternatives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 1135-1151.
10.
Harris, J. R. (1995). Where is the child’s environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review, 102(3), 458-589.
11.
Homer, P. M. (1993). Transmission of values: A cross-cultural investigation of generational and reciprocal influence effects. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 119, 343-367.
12.
Inglehart, R. (1971). The silent revolution: Changing values and political styles among Western publics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
13.
Kasser, T. (2002). Sketches for a self-determination theory of values. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 123-140). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
14.
Kasser, T. , & Ryan, R. M. (1993). A dark side of the American dream: Correlates of financial success as a central life aspiration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 410-422.
15.
Kasser, T. , & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further examining the American dream: Differential correlates of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 80-87.
16.
Kasser, T. , & Ryan, R. M. (2001). Be careful what you wish for: Optimal functioning and the relative attainment of intrinsic and extrinsic goals. In P. Schmuck & K. M. Sheldon (Eds.), Life goals and well-being: Towards a positive psychology of human striving (pp. 116-131). Goettingen, Germany: Hogrefe.
17.
Kasser, T. , Ryan, R. M., Zax, M., & Sameroff, A. J. (1995). The relations of maternal and social environments to late adolescents’ materialistic and prosocial values. Developmental Psychology, 31, 907-914.
18.
Kim, H. , & Markus, H. R. (1999). Deviance or uniqueness, harmony or conformity? A cultural analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 785-800.
19.
Koestner, R. , Franz, C., & Weinberger, J. (1990). The family origins of empathic concern: A 26-year longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 709-717.
20.
Koestner, R. , Walker, M., & Fichman, L. (1999). Childhood parenting experiences and adult creativity. Journal of Research in Personality, 33, 92-107.
21.
Kohn, M. L. (1977). Class and conformity: A study in values (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
22.
Kohn, M. L. , Slomczynski, K. M., & Schoenbach, C. (1986). Social stratification and the transmission of values in the family: A cross-national assessment. Sociological Forum, 1, 73-102.
23.
Maccoby, E. , & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: Parent-child interaction. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 4, pp. 1-102). New York: John Wiley.
24.
Maslow, A. H. (1956). Defense and growth. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 3, 36-47.
25.
Maslow, A. H. (Ed.). (1959). New knowledge in human values. New York: Harper.
26.
McClelland, D. C. , Constantian, C. A., Regalado, D., & Stone, C. (1982). Effects of child-rearing practices on adult maturity. In D. C. McClelland (Ed.), Development of social maturity (pp. 209-248). New York: Irvington.
27.
McClelland, D. C. , & Pilon, D. A. (1983). Sources of adult motives in parent behavior in early childhood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 564-574.
28.
Oishi, S. , Diener, E., Suh, E., & Lucas, R. E. (1999). Value as a moderator in subjective well-being. Journal of Personality, 67, 157-184.
29.
Plomin, R. (1995). Genetics and children’s experience in the family. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 36, 33-68.
30.
Rogers, C. R. (1964). Toward a modern approach to values: The valuing process in the mature person. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 68, 160-167.
31.
Rohan, M. J. , & Zanna, M. P. (1996). Value transmission in families. In C. Seligman, J. M. Olson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Values: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 8, pp. 253-276). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
32.
Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: Free Press.
33.
Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality, 63, 397-427.
34.
Ryan, R. M. , & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
35.
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theory and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 25, pp. 1-65). New York: Academic Press.
36.
Schwartz, S. H. (1996). Value priorities and behavior: Applying a theory of integrated value systems. In C. Seligman, J. M. Olson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The psychology of values: The Ontario symposium(Vol. 8, pp. 1-24). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
37.
Schwartz, S. H. , & Bilsky, W. (1987). Toward a psychological structure of human values. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 550-562.
38.
Schwartz, S. H. , & Bilsky, W. (1990). Toward a theory of the universal content and structure of values: Extensions and cross-cultural replications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 878-891.
39.
Schwartz, S. H. , Sagiv, L., & Boehnke, K. (2000). Worries and values. Journal of Personality, 68, 309-346.
40.
Sears, R. R. (1984). Patterns of child rearing. In S. A. Mednick, M. Harway, & K. M. Finello (Eds.), Handbook of longitudinal research: Vol. 1. Birth and childhood cohorts (pp. 161-174). New York: Praeger.
41.
Sears, R. R. , Maccoby, E. E., & Levin, H. (1957). Patterns of child rearing. Evanston, IL: Row Peterson.
42.
Sears, R. R. , Maccoby, E. E., & Levin, H. (1979). Patterns of child rearing. 1951-1952 (Machine-readable data files). Cambridge, MA: Henry A. Murray Research Center, Radcliffe College.
43.
Sheldon, K. M. , & McGregor, H. (2000). Extrinsic value orientation and the “tragedy of the commons.”Journal of Personality, 68, 383-411.
44.
Sheldon, K. M. , Ryan, R. M., & Reis, H. (1996). What makes for a good day? Competence and autonomy in the day, and in the person. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 1270-1279.
45.
Sheldon, K. M. , Sheldon, M. S., & Osbaldiston, R. (2000). Prosocial values and group assortation within an N-person Prisoner’s Dilemma game. Human Nature, 11, 387-404.
46.
Stewart, A. J. , & Healy, J. M. (1989). Linking individual development and social changes. American Psychologist, 44, 30-42.
47.
Whitbeck, L. B. , & Gecas, V. (1988). Value attributions and value transmission between parents and children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 50, 829-840.
48.
Williams, G. C. , Cox, E. M., Hedberg, V. A., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Extrinsic life goals and health-risk behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 1756-1771.
