Do Internal Dialogues in Young Adults Depend on Mother-Father Incongruence in Parental Attitudes Assessed Retrospectively?

Abstract

Mother-father incongruence in parental attitudes can cause conflict in the child. This may result in an experience of uncertainty that stimulates a person to engage in internal dialogues (IDs). Thus, we hypothesized that the greater the incongruence between the mother’s and the father’s parental attitudes, as assessed retrospectively by the child, the greater is the intensity of IDs in an adult offspring’s life. Participants were 92 women and 84 men aged between 20 years and 32 years. We used two methods: the Questionnaire of Retrospective Assessment of Parental Attitudes and the Internal Dialogical Activity Scale. We conducted a response survey analysis. Our hypothesis has been fully supported with regard to non-adaptive confronting IDs and general internal dialogical activity: the less the mother protects, and the more the father is overprotective, the greater is the intensity of these IDs. Our findings are discussed in light of the broader literature on parental attitudes and IDs.