Adolescent Perceptions of Conjugal Power

• Published in: Social forces Vol. 52; no. 3; pp. 357 - 367
• Main Authors: Bahr, Stephen J., Bowerman, Charles E., Gecas, Viktor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chapel Hill, N.C The University of North Carolina Press 01.03.1974; University of North Carolina Press
• Subjects: Adolescence/Adolescent/Adolescents; Adolescents; Child discipline; Children; Comparative education; Families; Family/Families; Fathers; Mothers; Parents; Power structures; Scope of employment
• ISSN: 0037-7732; 1534-7605
• DOI: 10.1093/sf/52.3.357

This study examines the accuracy of adolescent perceptions of conjugal power and the association of occupation, education, and female employment with these perceptions using data from two existing surveys. The parent with whom the adolescent identified most closely was perceived as relatively more powerful. Although perception of conjugal power varied somewhat by age and sex of adolescent, the data suggest that conjugal power may also vary by certain structural dimensions in the family, including age and sex of children. Furthermore, these age and sex differences did not affect the association of power with other variables. These findings imply that adolescent perceptions of conjugal power may have relatively high validity. Substantively, the data showed a positive association between the father' occupational prestige and his power concerning important family problems, general disagreements, and disagreements about income. Comparative father-mother education and the mother' employment status tended to have a positive association with conjugal power in all areas examined except child discipline where the two data sets were somewhat contradictory.