Single Mothers' Religious Participation and Early Childhood Behavior

Abstract

Using data on 1,134 single mothers from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study examined trajectories of religious participation among single mothers and whether these trajectories were associated with early childhood behavior. The results suggested that single mothers experienced diverse patterns of religious participation throughout their child's early life; some mothers maintained a consistent pattern of religious participation (or nonparticipation), and other mothers increased their participation. The results also suggested that religious participation was associated with greater involvement with children, reduced parenting stress, and a lower likelihood of engaging in corporal punishment. Young children raised by mothers who frequently attended religious services were less likely to display problem behaviors, and this relationship was partially mediated by increased child involvement, lower stress, and less frequent corporal punishment. Overall, religious participation may provide resources for single mothers that encourage them to engage in parenting practices that promote positive child development.

The Role of Religion in Parenting Satisfaction and Parenting Stress Among Young Parents

“…Relying on data from the fourth wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), and consistent with calls from previous research (Hill et al ; Petts ), this study extends prior work by investigating relationships between various aspects of religion and parenting satisfaction and parental stress among a nationally representative sample of young parents (ages 24–34), including both mothers (N = 4,191) and fathers (N = 2,114) . Further, we examine whether these associations hold across gender and relationship status.…”

“…Taken together, these findings suggest that the responsibilities of raising children represent a potential source of stress but also an area of life many parents find ultimately meaningful and rewarding. Identifying factors that contribute either to parents’ sense of feeling satisfied and/or overwhelmed with their parental responsibilities is an important and understudied topic for researchers interested in the well‐being of parents and children (Petts ).…”

Individual- and County-Level Religious Participation, Corporal Punishment, and Physical Abuse of Children: An Exploratory study

“…Although our study did not examine a particular faith or denomination, the findings seem in line with the literature linking conservative Protestantism to corporal punishment (Frechette & Romano, 2015; Gershoff et al, 1999). However, our finding is contrary to other research suggesting that mothers who attend religious services more frequently use corporal punishment less frequently (Petts, 2012). This effect is significant even when controlling for participation in neighborhood or social groups, suggesting that participation in religious groups is uniquely associated with frequency of corporal punishment.…”

“…In addition, as our measure of religious participation cannot separately assess individual religious faiths or denominations, these findings remain exploratory. Further research should assess whether this phenomenon differs amongst faith practices, or is an independent effect from self-identified denomination, as some research suggests (Petts, 2012). It is also important to note that the relationship between corporal punishment and child behavior problems may be moderated by social and cultural contexts not measured by the current study (Deater-Deckard & Dodge, 1997; Ellison, Musick, & Holden, 2011; Petts & Kysar-Moon, 2012).…”

Gyakori vallásszociológiai témák nem-vallásspecifikus folyóirat-cikkekben

“…Azt találják, hogy akiknek erős hálózatuk van vallásos barátokból, azoknál a templomba járás hatása e tény által számos polgári és szomszédsági részvétel esetében magyarázható. (2013: 331) A templomba járás életkor szerinti mintázatai (Hayward-Krause 2013), az LBWszüléstől 14 védő hatása (Burdette et al 2012) és az egyedülálló anyáknál a korai gyermekkori viselkedéssel való összefüggései (Petts 2012) szintén egy-egy tanulmány fókuszát képezik.…”