The Relationship between Parental Employment and Three Measures of Early Adolescent Responsibility

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Abstract
Early adolescence is a crucial period in the development of autonomy which includes the taking of responsibility and self-management. The relationship between the development of responsibility and changing parental employment patterns was the focus of this study. Two-way analyses of variance were employed to determine whether levels of responsibility differed according to parental employment status and gender of adolescent. The sample consisted of 174 early adolescents and their parents who were part of a statewide survey conducted in Michigan in 1987. Interviews with adolescents and their parents yielded data in personal, family-related, and social responsibility. Neither parental employment status nor gender of child was found to be related to personal responsibility. Gender effects were significant for family responsibility with boys and girls assuming traditionally male and female roles. In the area of social responsibility, adolescents from two-parent families in which one parent was not employed participated in more volunteer activities than did adolescents from single-parent families. Girls were more likely than boys to participate in volunteer activities.