Organization of parent knowledge.

Abstract

The present study explored the association between organization of knowledge about parents and the types of relationships that adult children have with them. This study demonstrated that for fathers, types of relationships were predicted primarily by the content of parent knowledge (and not knowledge structure). However, for mothers, structure of parent knowledge was associated with three distinct types of parent-child relationships. Positively compartmentalized structures (in which positive and negative beliefs about mothers were categorized separately, and positive beliefs were rated as more important than negative ones) were associated with relationships characterized by positive attitudes and attributions and high levels of closeness, contact, and cooperation in the relationship. Positively integrative structures (in which positive and negative beliefs about mothers were categorized together, but positive beliefs were rated as more important than negative ones) were associated with relationships characterized by moderately positive attitudes, moderately high levels of closeness, positive attributions, and low levels of contact and cooperation. Negative parent structures (in which there were high levels of negative beliefs about mothers, and these negative beliefs were considered more important than positive ones by the child) were associated with relationships characterized by negative attitudes and attributions, and low levels of closeness, contact, and cooperation.