Parenting styles and alcohol use in Jewish college males

¶ … parenting styles in the Jewish community differentially correlate with alcohol use of Jewish College Freshmen males (18-26)?

Underage and college drinking is an increasing problem for youth. This later phase of adolescence is one where pressure and a desire to act as an independent individual are overwhelming, and can convince college students to opt toward excessive alcohol usage (Bahr & Hoffman, 2012; Changalwa et al., 2012; Peckham & Lopez, 2007). The degree to which parenting styles correspond to college age drinking frequency within the Jewish community remains unknown.

The given research is intended to investigate and measure whether there is a relationship between the parenting styles experienced by a Jewish child during childhood and the potential to develop an alcohol intake frequency during late adolescence. It is evidenced that there is a considerable relationship between the parenting styles and the degree of alcohol consumption in college aged adolescents and young adults in many college communities (Beck et al., 2004). Interestingly, it is currently unknown how parenting styles within the Jewish community correlate with youth drinking frequency, and this is an area upon which current research can and should be expanded.

Research Question(s) and Hypotheses

RQ 1- Do the parenting styles in the Hasidic, Orthodox, and Modern Orthodox Jewish communities differentially correlate with alcohol use of Jewish College Freshmen males (18-26)?

Null HP- Parenting Styles have no correlation with teenage drinking frequency.

Alternate HP-2- Do parenting styles have a positive or negative correlation on teenage drinking frequency? Alternate HP-3- What type of parenting styles dominate in the Borough Park Jewish community? Alternate HP-4- Provided the investigation of specific parenting styles in the Borough Park Jewish community, is there a correlation if any, toward the existence of Alcohol use frequency within the Jewish Community Specifically in College Age Students?

Alternate HP-5 Are parenting behaviors related to influencing alcohol drinking frequency in college age children?

Independent Variable-1 - Parenting styles (Authoritarian, Authoritative, Permissive, and Uninvolved) for each institution. Independent Variable-2 - Jewish affiliations (Hassidic, Orthodox, and Modern Orthodox). Dependent Variable - Frequency of drinking (how much/how often). Methodology -- Two Way Anova.

Theoretical Framework for the Study

According to Bowlby and Ainsworth (1982), attachment styles of parenting relate directly to how both children and caregivers see themselves. The theory of attachment parenting will be used as the theoretical framework for this study, to show the correlation between parenting styles and college-age drinking in their children. The main theory will also be expanded to address the way different affiliations of the Jewish faith parent their children, so the correlations between faith, parenting, and drinking behaviors can be addressed more clearly in the methodology, analysis, and discussion areas in future chapters. The major hypothesis that there is a correlation between college-age drinking behaviors and parenting styles will be more fully explained in Chapter Two, which will delve more thoroughly into attachment parenting theory and the reasons behind parenting styles affecting the behavior of adolescents and beyond, when it comes to drinking and many other activities. The attachment parenting theory relates to the approach taken in the study and the research questions based on how parents of any and all faiths have a strong affect on how their children develop and how they act once they are free of as much parental control. Since this freedom generally begins in college, whether this is the reason for increased drinking behavior must be explored.

Conceptual Framework

The concept that grounds this study deals with parenting styles and how they affect the reactions of children once those children are released from parental control. In other words, the way a child is parented as he or she is growing up will affect his or her behaviors once he or she goes off to college and is no longer as controlled and/or watched over by parents. Whether a college-age child engages in inappropriate behaviors at that time or not is believed to be strongly affected by the way his or her parents raised him or her. According to the research, there is a great deal of information on parenting and drinking behavior (Bowlby & Ainsworth, 1982; Baumrind, 1991; Bahr & Hoffman, 2012; Changalwa et al., 2012; Peckham & Lopez, 2007). Much more of this will be presented in Chapter Two. However, there are no studies provided where this information is analyzed in the course of whether the parents are Jewish in faith and/or what affiliation or style of Jewish faith these parents exhibit.

In other words, the paper will focus on the concept of faith and parenting affecting the drinking behavior of college-age children. The conceptual framework for this study will be used to provide information on what has been seen in the literature and what will be seen in the future. It will also drive the development of the methodological instruments and the data analysis in Chapters Three and Four.

Assumptions

It is assumed that there are three different classifications in the Jewish faith and four parenting styles. In theory, this is accurate. However, many Jewish people mix aspects of several different "styles" of faith, and some are more devout than others. Additionally, parenting styles may sometimes be a mix of several different options, and few parents fall completely into one of the four styles discussed in this study. However, there is no way to address every possible configuration between faith and parenting. Because of that, it becomes necessary to reduce the number of faith and parenting options to a number that can be worked with by the researcher. Without doing that, the study would become far too large and convoluted, as every possible difference between each family surveyed, its faith, and its parenting style would have to be analyzed, discussed, and categorized.

Scope and Delimitations

The scope of the study focuses on the role the Jewish faith plays when it comes to the parenting styles and drinking behaviors that will be discussed within its boundaries. This was chosen because it is an important part of the Jewish community and there have not been any studies conducted that address it. Included populations are the three types of Jewish people addressed in previous sections, and located within the Borough Park Jewish community. All other faiths and communities are excluded from this study. Attachment parenting is the only framework that will be used, and other styles or theories regarding parenting and how it affects children in later life were not addressed. The study could be potentially generalized to other Jewish populations in other areas, but would likely not be generalizable to other faiths or other ways of determining or studying parenting styles.

Limitations

The main limitation of the study is that it focuses only on the population in the Borough Park Jewish community. That not only excludes other faiths, but also excludes all other Jewish people who do not live within that community's boundaries. By limiting the study to only those people, the researcher may miss out on important information that he or she would otherwise acquire regarding the issue being addressed. This is a risk taken by all studies where a very specific population is examined or studied. Another limitation is the decision to study only a specific type of parenting (i.e. attachment parenting). Not all parents fall neatly into one of its four categories, which could make categorization of some of the surveyed individuals and families difficult and possibly inaccurate. There are no obvious biases of which the researcher is aware, and the awareness of the limitations of the study will help the researcher focus on the value of the study as part of a larger puzzle regarding how parenting may affect children's behavior at the age of college or in later life.

Significance

The main significance of the study is that it will be the first one of its kind where the Jewish faith is concerned. That makes it groundbreaking, and it could pave the way for other studies of its kind in the future. The more researchers understand how parenting styles affect faith (and vice versa), the more they will be able to see the correlation between those two areas of life as they relate to the growth and development of children. That could change opinions about faith, and could also change opinions regarding the value of particular styles of parenting.

Summary

The study will look carefully at the variables of faith and parenting style, and correlate those with the drinking behavior seen in the college-age children that come from these families. This will be done through surveys and observational research, so as to get first-hand knowledge and information that can be used to analyze the issue. This will be the first study of its kind where the faith concern is addressed, and will allow for further research into the issue so that knowledge can be expanded. Before the information can be collected and analyzed, however, what has already been studied must be discussed. That will be done in Chapter Two, on the following pages.