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This article makes a partial test of some theories of identification in relation to parents and their influence on children. Austrian psychologist and physician Sigmund Freud considered the process of identification in the child to develop in three stages. Freud posited two different mechanisms of identification in the third stage depending upon the child's sex. Various factors force the child to secure the satisfaction of his dependency drive by identification behavior. Parental sex influences the identification process. There are some recent studies whose findings provide some test of identification theories. Because they are comparatively few in number considering the importance of the area of parent child relations, it was thought desirable to examine some of the identification hypotheses using relevant data from a study of the child-rearing values of mothers and their children. For this purpose, data from interviews with fifty middle class college students and their mothers were used to test several hypotheses deriving from various theories of identification. No significant relationship was found between the students identification with their mothers and their sex, family function, the parent who was primarily responsible for their control, or their perception of their mother's affection.

Samples of female college students and women with children completed questionnaires indicating the likelihood of their performing 16 types of influence techniques in a common child-rearing situation. Significant differences were found in the proportions of the college women and mothers stating that they would use several of the techniques. Two general patterns emerged: first, the greater use of active techniques involving the direct manipulation of consequences and, second, a decrease in the use of love-oriented techniques which were negatively cast. The results were interpreted as suggesting that the experience of child-rearing may produce significant changes in attitudes toward parental influence techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a discussion on parents' locus of control and perception of cause of children's problems. Locus of control refers to the degree to which a person perceives reinforcement as contingent upon his own behavior. Internal locus of control designates the belief that one's own actions influence events in the environment; external locus of control describes the belief that one's behavior is unrelated to the outcome of these events. The article focuses on parental locus of control and related child-rearing practices. It was predicated on the assumption that parents view the results of their own child-rearing practices in much the same way that they regard other activities in their lives, either as a product of skill or of chance.