Earth mothers (and fathers): examining generativity and environmental concerns in adolescents and their parents

Erikson's construct of generative concern for future generations seems a plausible structure for supporting environmental behavior and socialization in the family. The present study of 44 Canadian middle-class families with a focal child aged 14-16 years, examined variations in generative conce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of moral education 2013-03, Vol.42 (1), p.12-27
Main Authors: Pratt, Michael W., Norris, Joan E., Alisat, Susan, Bisson, Elise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent Attitudes
Adolescents
Canada
Children
Christianity
Conservation (Environment)
Contemporary period
Environmental behaviour
Environmental Education
Environmental sociology
Family (Sociological Unit)
Foreign Countries
General subjects
Generation differences
Generativity
History and sciences of religions
Measurement
Measures (Individuals)
Middle Class
Morality
Parent Child Relationship
Parenting
Parenting Styles
Parents
Parents & parenting
Pastoral theology
Prediction
Prosocial Behavior
Scores
Social behaviour
Socialization
Teaching. Education
Teenagers
Values
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Summary:Erikson's construct of generative concern for future generations seems a plausible structure for supporting environmental behavior and socialization in the family. The present study of 44 Canadian middle-class families with a focal child aged 14-16 years, examined variations in generative concern among parents and their children and tested how such variations were related to differences in environmental values and behaviors in the family, as measured by a number of standard and novel scales and self-reports. Results showed that adolescent generative concern on the Loyola Generativity Scale predicted positively adolescent environmental and prosocial behaviors and was, in turn, predicted by an authoritative parenting style and maternal generative concern. Furthermore, an emphasis on environmental-socialization values and practices by parents was associated positively with higher parent-generativity scores, and parents' environmental actions and values, in turn, predicted adolescent behaviors. This study provides preliminary support for the role of generative concern in supporting environmental socialization in the family context.
ISSN:0305-7240
1465-3877
DOI:10.1080/03057240.2012.714751