The Referring Function of Parents’ Personal Networks on Parenting Attitudes: Differences by Gender and Types of Ties

Abstract

Most previous studies on childcare networks in family sociology have focused mainly on the supportive functions of the personal networks of mothers of preschool children. Since education becomes more important as the child grows, however, exploring the referring function of the personal networks of parents is a significant issue. Furthermore, the increase in dual earner households seems to indicate a growing need for research regarding fathers. Therefore, using NFRJ18 data, we examine the influences of referring to personal networks on the parenting attitudes of both fathers and mothers of children from preschool to adolescence. We made the following findings. 1) Among both males and females, referring to the spouse is associated with receptive attitudes. 2) Among only females, referring to relatives and the parents of children’s friends correlates to rejective attitudes. 3) These differences between males and females seem to reflect gender differences in involvement in child rearing.