Abstract
A relational perspective on socialization explores how the distinctive parent-child relationship context affects the dynamics of parent-child interactions. Forty mothers responded to hypothetical transgressions involving short-term and long-term socialization issues in three different relationship contexts: their own child, their child's best friend, and an unfamiliar child. Mothers reported different affective reactions, socialization goals, and discipline strategies depending on the nature of the relationship and also depending on the nature of the socialization issue. Mothers reported that they would experience more emotional upset, have more future oriented goals, and employ more power assertion, teaching and reasoning strategies for their own child compared with unrelated children. They also used these strategies more frequently for transgressions involving long-term issues. The discussion explored how various dimensions of relationships (past history, future course, interdependence) are represented in how mothers handle disciplinary interactions with their children.
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