Parenting as a Generator of Adult Development: Conceptual Issues and Implications

Abstract

Professionals and laypersons frequently state that the transition to parenthood and engagement in parental roles set parents on strikingly different life-course trajectories than they would have experienced if they had never raised children. Specialists in life-span development and family studies discuss parenthood as though it is causally related to observed changes. However, while some theories and a handful of empirical studies have outlined differences between parents and non-parents, there is great need for further conceptualization in this area before empirical evidence can be marshalled to support or refute the contention that parenting is causally related to development. This paper synthesizes theory and empirical evidence from the fields of life-span development and family studies in an effort to further our understanding of the relationships between parenting and adult development.