The more similar, the more warmth: The effect of parent-child perceived facial resemblance on parenting behavior

Publication date: 1 February 2019Source: Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 138Author(s): Quanlei Yu, Qiuying Zhang, Qing Xiong, Shenghua Jin, Hong Zou, Yafei GuoAbstractVia internal fertilization, fathers face the risk of paternal uncertainty. Parent-child facial resemblance is a good index to assess genetic resemblance. Previous studies have shown that parent-child facial resemblance significantly influences parental investment. Therefore, parent-child facial resemblance may predict father's parenting behaviors, but not the mother's behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to explore the effect of parent-child facial resemblance for parenting behaviors. We recruited 114 parents of secondary school students from 114 independent families and measured participants' perceived parent-child facial resemblance and parenting behaviors. Results showed that, after controlling for participants' age and socioeconomic status, parents' gender moderated the effect of perceived parent-child facial resemblance on supportive/engaged parenting, but not hostile/coercive parenting. Further analysis of a simple slope effect test showed that perceived father-child facial resemblance significantly predicted a father's supportive/engaged parenting. But the effect of perceived mother-child facial resemblance for a mother's supportive/engaged parenting was not significant. These findings enriched the attach theory from the life history perspective.
Source: Personality and Individual Differences - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research