Transmission of Religiosity From Parent to Child: Moderation by Perceived Parental Depression and Anxiety

Abstract

Although parents have a strong influence on their children’s religiosity, little research has been conducted on how different parental anxiety and depressive problems affect the transmission of religiosity. The current study asked emerging adults to report on the religiosity and internalizing behaviors of their mothers and fathers as well as their own religiosity. Structural equation modeling was used to measure whether perceived parental internalizing problems, parent gender, and participant gender moderated the relationship between parental and emerging adult religiosity. Results indicated that the interaction terms between perceived maternal religiosity and both depressive and anxiety problems were significant only for females. Participant gender did not suggest a three-way interaction among variables, though parent gender did as the interaction term between maternal religiosity and both anxiety and depressive problems were significantly stronger than paternal ones.

From parent to child: Family factors that influence faith transmission.

“…In the low decline class, adolescent religiosity was not related to father religiosity and had a curvilinear relationship with mother religiosity. Differential impact of father and mother on religious transmission has been well documented (Stearns & McKinney, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c; Copen & Silverstein, 2008). Further, a mother’s role has often been considered stronger or more primary in religious transmission (Boyatzis et al, 2006; Stearns & McKinney, 2017).…”