Parenting Style and Its Impact on Risk-Taking Behaviors

Running head: PARENTING STYLE AND RISK TAKING 1
The Effects of Parenting Style on Risk-Taking Behaviors
Erin Bosman, Hannah Marose, and Max Wong
University of Wisconsin Eau Claire
Authors Note
Erin Bosman, Hannah Marose, and Max Wong, Department of Psychology, University of
Wisconsin - Eau Claire.
All authors contributed equally to all aspects of the study. Order of authorship
was determined by alphabetical order.
This study is being conducted in partial fulfillment of the course requirements for
Psychology 271, taught by Jarrod Hines, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Erin Bosman,
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54701. Email:
Bosmanen@uwec.edu
Abstract

PARENTING STYLE AND RISK TAKING 2
Previous studies have shown that parenting style plays a role in a child’s academic performance
as well as other behaviors. In fact, there has been a significant amount of research focusing on
parenting style in relation to behaviors. However, many past studies focused on singular
behaviors, limiting the possibility of generalizing their results to a wider category of behaviors.
In order to further research risk-taking behaviors in relation to parenting style, we created an
inclusive definition of risk-taking behavior made up of driving, drinking, gambling, sexual, and
injury behaviors. We then took the information gathered on participants risk-taking behaviors
and related it to additional information we gathered on the parenting style which our participants
grew up with. We utilized Baumrind's (1971) definitions of parenting styles which included
permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative. We hypothesized that participants who had
authoritative parents would have a significantly lower amount of risk-taking behaviors than those
who had authoritarian or permissive parents. Overall, we recruited 93 valid participants for a
quasi-experimental survey. However, our results contradicted our original hypothesis and we
found that risk-taking behaviors were not strongly influenced by parenting style.
Keywords: parenting style, permissive, authoritative, authoritarian, risk-taking behavior

The Effects of Parenting Style on Risk-Taking Behaviors
Parents are one of the largest social influences children have as they grow up. They act as
models for positive social interactions and demonstrate important interpersonal skills (McDowell
& Parke, 2009; Putallaz, 1987, as cited in Makami, 2010). Since parents play such an important
role in the social development of children, it is important to understand how different parenting
styles affect children in various ways. Previous studies have shown that parenting style plays a
role in a child’s academic performance, prevalence of problem behaviors, and psychosocial
development among other things (e.g., Darling, 1999). To better understand how parenting style
can impact problem behaviors as children reach young adulthood, and strive for independence,
we looked at the impact parenting style has on an individual's overall level of risk taking. By
combining multiple types of risk taking behaviors, we provided an inclusive and generalized
measure of how parenting style impacts risk taking behavior that goes beyond current research
which mainly focuses on single risk taking behaviors.We attempted to further research pertaining
to parenting styles, by indirectly observing the relationship between being raised under different
parenting styles and participation in risk-taking behaviors.
Parenting styles were originally defined by Baumrind (1971) as authoritarian,
authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. These parenting styles differed based on the parents
level of authority, attention, and affection towards their children. Authoritarian parents are
controlling, and show very little comforting attention to their child. Their children are expected
to be submissive and adhere to all the strict rules that their parents give them. Authoritative
parents are encouraging and supportive, but also provide rules and limits and are stricter in
relation to those limits. They are open-minded to their child’s opinions and open to negotiation,

but also responsible and firm. In contrast to authoritarian parents, permissive parents are highly
passive. Instead of strict rules permissive parents tend to have optional guidelines, and rarely say
‘no’ or discipline inappropriate behavior. Rather than being a mentor and leader, permissive
parents are more of a resource that are there for guidance when asked for. Permissive parents
provide few consequences. Finally, uninvolved parents tend to be neglectful and tend to not give
their child attention in any form. They neither set rules nor provide support or act as a resource.
They interact with their child very minimally (Kopko, 2007).
Baumrind’s definitions of parenting styles illustrate the potential consequences that arise
when children have parents who utilize these parenting styles. Authoritarian parenting often
results in low levels of social and communication skills needed to be a good leader, as well as
increases the probability that a child will become authoritarian in the future. These children often
perform for attention and approval and relate these actions with love, but the low frequency of
praise can lead to children having low self-esteem. Authoritative parents tend to raise
independent and socially adapt children who have high levels of self-control. Research
conducted by Piko and Balazs (2012), found that authoritative parenting may act as a protective
measure against risk-taking. Permissive parenting can lead to children who have high creativity
levels, but lack boundaries and self-control. Children of this parenting type often feel entitled and
they don’t understand the possibility of consequences. They tend to suffer from a lack of
motivation and organization, and don’t easily identify boundaries. Children of uninvolved
(neglectful) parents often have trouble following rules and have behavior problems caused by a
lack of self-control. Additionally, children of uninvolved parents often have trust issues and
therefore have trouble forming intimate relationships with those around them. The lack of
relationships seen between uninvolved parents and their children, might cause them to partake in

riskier behaviors as they strive for attention and inclusion. By understanding the possible
consequences of different parenting styles, we can better predict how parenting style might
impact risk-taking behaviors such as drinking, distracted driving, gambling, sexual activity, and
number of injuries.
A study by Whitney and Froiland (2015) examined how permissive parenting affected
college age students’, ages 18-23, beer drinking habits since parenting style was thought to be a
risk factor for alcohol use. To do this, researchers had participants fill out the Parental Authority
Questionnaire and the Alcohol use Identification Test, so that they could examine alcohol use in
relation to parenting style. The results of this study found that children of permissive parents
often drank beer more often and in higher quantities than young adults who grew up under other
parenting styles. Therefore, it appears that children who have higher levels of parental
involvement are less likely to abuse alcohol. Drinking is one example of a behavior that carries
many negative consequences with it, and therefore, partaking in unhealthy drinking habits can be
considered risk-taking. Because of this, we characterized it as a major category to predict risk-
taking.
Additionally, a study by Laghi, Lonigro, Baiocco, and Baumgartner (2013) focused on
alcohol related behaviors. They discussed how parenting style relates to alcohol-related behavior
by adolescents. They surveyed adolescents on their drinking habits along with their parents
behaviors. Looking at parental behaviors allowed the researchers to evaluate parenting styles.
The study categorized drinking styles into binge drinkers, heavy drinkers, social drinkers, and
nondrinkers. They found that a lack of parental responsiveness and involvement along with harsh
or inconsistent punishment are strong predictors of problem behavior like risky drinking
behavior.

Another study conducted by Piko and Balaz (2012) discussed the role of parenting and
how it influences adolescent behavior. In order to understand this relationship, they focused on
the role of authoritative parenting style in relation to adolescents' smoking and drinking
behavior. Piko and Balazs (2012) concluded that authoritative parenting style and positive
identification with parents may serve as a protection against risky drinking behaviors, whereas
negative family interaction may act as a risk factor. In other words, children who have
authoritative parents identify their relationships with their parents as more positive and therefore
are less likely to abuse alcohol than children who have bad relationships with their parents.
Much of the past research related to risk-taking behaviors and parenting styles focuses on
drinking behaviors. We intend to have a broader focus in our research, on a variety of risk-taking
behaviors. In order to gain more insight, we did further research and found a few studies that
either focused on substance abuse in relation to other risk-taking behaviors, or that just focused
on other risk-taking behaviors. One of these studies conducted by Ginsburg, Durbin, Garcia-
España, Kalicka, and Winston (2009) used a nationally representative samples of 5,665 students
to observe how parenting style affects a child's driving behavior and if the child participated in
more risky behavior while driving. This study identified four parenting types (authoritarian,
authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved), based on children's reports of their parents. Children
of authoritative parents reported half the amount of crashes than those with uninvolved parents.
Additionally, teens with authoritarian or authoritative parents reported wearing a seatbelt more
often, and were less likely to drive under the influence, use a cell phone while driving, and
speeding, than those with uninvolved parents (Ginsburg et al., 2009). Since this study utilized a
representative sample it is fair to conclude that parenting style probably strongly influences risky
driving.

Another research study conducted by Leeman, Patock-Peckham, Hoff., Krishnan-Sarin,
Steinberg, Rugle, and Potenza (2014) observed the risk-taking behavior of gambling. They
observed data from a high-school based risk-behavior survey to assess relationships between
perceived parental permissiveness toward gambling and adolescent gambling behavior,
substance use and related problems. Researchers found that perceived permissive parenting
appeared to have a correlation with adolescent’s risk-taking gambling behavior (Leeman, et al.,
2014).
Previous studies have illustrated that parenting style does indeed influence different risk-
taking behaviors, however, it is still unclear whether or not these behaviors are impacted
independently by parenting style, or if a child's overall level of risk-taking is impacted by
parenting style. Specifically, the majority of studies we found looked at how parenting style
influences drinking behavior (eg. Whitney and Froiland, 2015). They then generalize their
conclusions to include all risk-taking behaviors. However, it has yet to be researched whether or
not certain parenting style put children at risk for only one risk-taking behavior, or if they exhibit
higher chances of engaging in multiple risk-taking behaviors.
We hope to find that parenting style impacts students overall risk-taking scores
(compromised or distracted driving, drinking, gambling, sexual risk, and injurious behaviors),
such that students with authoritative parents will have lower risk taking scores than those with
authoritarian and permissive parents. By observing the relationship between parenting style and
risk-taking behavior, we hope to understand why some students take more risks than others.
Method
Participants and Sampling

We collected a convenience sample of 98 students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire, during the 2016 spring semester. However, five people didn’t report their gender, making
them ineligible for the study, leaving us with 93 participants (20 men, 73 women). The mean age
of participants was 19.95 (SD= .351, range 18-46). The majority of participants were not adopted
(98.90%) however 1.1% of participants were adopted. None of our participants had been in the
foster care system. Most participants had married parents (65.60%) with 17.20% having parents
who were never married, 11.80% with divorced parents, 4.30% had widowed parents, and 1.10%
of participants had parents who were separated. Of participants with divorced parents, 45.50% of
mothers and fathers were remarried.
Design
To examine the relationship between parenting style and risk-taking behavior, we
conducted a quasi-experiment where participants answered a number of questions related to
their parent’s behavior and their personal participation in different risky behaviors. Since we
administered a quasi-experiment, we were not able to assign participants to different parenting
styles or different levels of risk-taking, so, our experiment did not manipulate either of these
variables. Within our experiment, we labeled parenting style as our quasi-independent variable
and risk-taking behavior as our quasi-dependent variable. For the purpose of this experiment, we
based parenting style on the level of authority the parents’ express, which we divided into three
categories: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. Authoritarian parenting involves a high
level of authority and leaves little room for children to make their own decisions. Authoritative
parenting utilizes a moderate level of authority, leaving room for children to question and change
family rules. Permissive parents use little or no authority to create and enforce rules, giving their
children high levels of freedom. Our quasi-dependent variable of risk-taking focused on five

behaviors, including distracted driving, substance use, gambling, sexual risks, and injuries that
the participant has suffered while partaking in risky behaviors.
Procedure
Personal data such as age, gender and parent's marital status was collected at the
beginning of our survey, followed by information pertaining to our key variables of interest. We
created a questionnaire that consists aspects of parenting styles and risk-taking behaviors. In the
parenting styles questionnaire section, we created 30 questions to measure different types of
parental authority, which include authoritarian, authoritative and permissive. Whereas for the
measure of risk-taking behaviors, we have designed a series of 20 questions, which pertain to
distracted driving, substance abuse, gambling, sexual risks, as well as their frequency of injuries
caused by risky behaviors such as activities like skydiving and downhill skiing. Upon completion
of the survey, participants were debriefed on the purpose of the study and given links to
resources in case they experience any emotional distress, Counselling Services of UWEC,
located at 2122 Old Library, (http://www.uwec.edu/counsel/). We anticipate that the survey will
take roughly forty-five minutes to complete.
Measures
Parenting Styles. To measure parenting style we used Baumrind’s (1971) three types of
parental authority, which include authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive. To score these
items we revised Buri’s (1991) Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), which consists of 30
questions. To simplify the study, we reworded the questions by replacing the words mother and
father with the plural parents, so that each participant only had to fill out one questionnaire. Each
question uses a 7-point scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Using the
answers from these questions we determined the permissiveness, authoritarianism, and

authoritativeness, level of each participant's parents. Our study obtained a Cronbach's alpha of
0.84 for permissiveness, 0.87 for authoritativeness questions, and 0.88 for authoritativeness,
proving the reliability of our measure of parenting style. Items 1, 6, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24,
and 28 measure permissiveness. Items 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, 16, 18, 25, 26, and 29 measure the parent’s
level of authoritarian style. Finally, items 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 22, 23, 27, and 30 measure
authoritative parenting style. By adding up the scores of the items in each sub score we got a
score between 10 and 70 for each type of parenting style. We used these scores to determine the
parenting style the parents grew up with and then use this information to better understand their
risk-taking behaviors. See appendix A.
Risk-Taking Behaviors. To measure risk-taking behavior we had participants answer 20
questions related to the frequency in which they take part in distracted driving, substance abuse,
gambling, sexual risks, as well as their frequency of injuries caused by risky behaviors. By
assessing these items separately by categorizing them into low, moderate, and high levels of risk
and then averaging individual scores together for each participant, we were able to determine
their overall level of risk-taking.
Distracted driving. To assess distracted driving, we asked participants four questions
related to cell phone usage and alcohol consumption while driving, and speeding, which we
measured using responses of frequently, sometimes, and never. Additionally, we asked two
questions to assess the driver's likelihood of having an accident. Our distracted driving scale had
a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.55. We used a scale similar to the one developed by Le Bas, Hughes,
and Stout (2015) which assigned high risk behaviors (answers would include frequently and yes)
six points, and moderate risk behaviors (sometimes and maybe) two points. Our study also
included a low risk behavior category that included never, and no responses, which we assigned

zero points. This gave us a scale of 0 to 36 points. For the purpose of this study, we defined low
risk as receiving a score of 0 to 12, moderate risk as 12 to 24, and high risk behaviors as 24 to
36. See appendix C.
To keep scoring compatible throughout the different risk taking behaviors measures, we
continued to assign high risk behaviors six points, moderate risk behaviors two points, and low
risk behaviors zero points. This allowed us to easily calculate each participant's overall risk
taking score.
Drinking behaviors. To measure drinking behavior we utilized the scale used by
Meyerhoff (as cited by Meyerhoff et al., 2005) which defined light drinkers as those who
consumed less than 45 drinks per month, moderate drinkers who consumed between 45 and 90
drinks per month, and heavy drinkers as those who consumed over 90 drinks per month. To get
an accurate average of how many drinks each participant consumes we asked how many drinks
they have per week as well as how often they drink. Our questions had a Cronbach’s alpha of
0.67. To keep this consistent with measures of distracted driving, we assigned high drinking six
points, moderate drinking two points, and low drinking levels zero points. See appendix D.
Gambling. To assess risk based on gambling we used 10 questions from the NORC
DSM-IV Screen for Gambling Problems (NODS), as it appeared in an article by Toce-Gerstein,
Gerstein, and Volberg, (2009), which assesses 10 different categories of risk-taking while
gambling (preoccupation, tolerance, withdrawal, loss of control, escape, chasing, lying, illegal
acts, risked relationships, and bailout). To account for the difference in the number of test
questions we used one question from each category. Our scale had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.88,
showing that it is reliable. We used the original scale rating high risk behaviors as those that
occur in three to four of the previously mentioned categories, moderate risk as behaviors

occurring in one to two categories, and low risk as no problem in any category. To make these
scores compatible with our other risk-taking measures, we will assign high risk behaviors six
points, moderate risk two points, and low risk zero points. See appendix E.
Sexual risk. We used a six questions of a revised edition of the Cognitive Appraisal of
Risky Events (CARE) to assess sexual risk and how likely participants are to engage in different
sexual behaviors. Internal reliabilities on our scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.75. We rated each
question on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from not at all likely (1) to very likely (7), giving
us a set of scores ranging from 6 to 42. We considered scores between 6 and 12 as low risk, 13 to
25 as moderate risk and scores between 26 and 42 as high risk. We assigned high risk six points,
moderate risk two points, and low risk zero points. See appendix F.
Injury rates. Lastly, we examined the prevalence of injuries caused by risk-taking
behaviors, by asking three questions related to different types of injuries. Our scale only had a
Cronbach’s alpha of 0.17. We labeled participants who answer yes to all three questions as
having high risk, two of three as having moderate risk, and one or zero yes’s as having low risk.
We assigned high risk six points, moderate risk two points, and low risk zero points, so that it is
compatible with the scoring for other risk taking behavior measures.
We averaged each participant's individual sub scores together to create a total risk score.
Scores ranged from 0 to 12. Based on this scale we defined 0 to 4 as low risk, 5-8 as moderate
risk and 9-12 as high risk. See appendix G.
Results
Hypothesis Testing
To test whether parenting style affects risk-taking behaviors, we conducted a three factor
(Parenting Style: Permissive, Authoritarian, Authoritative) between-subjects ANOVA on risk

taking behaviors. The ANOVA was not significant F(2, 84)= 1.50, p= .23, ηp
2= .04. However,
there appeared to marginal difference between authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles,
p= .09, suggesting the possibility of a simple main effect. Permissive parenting (M= 4.74,
SD=1.67) didn’t result in higher risk-taking scores than authoritarian (M= 5.20, SD= 1.37),
p=.30 or authoritative parenting (M= 4.07, SD= 1.45), p= .24.
Exploratory Results
To test whether gender affected risk-taking behaviors, we ran an independent samples t-
test. Results were not significant F(89)= 1.78, p=.19, r2= .02, such that males (M= 4.22, SD=
1.94) did not have higher risk-taking scores than females (M= 4.78, SD= 1.54). Therefore, we
fail to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that gender probably doesn’t affect risk-taking
behavior.
To test the hypothesis that age correlates negatively with risk-taking behavior scores, we
performed a Pearson’s correlation. Results were not significant, F(87)= .194, p= .07, r2= .04.
This suggests that the as age increases risk-taking scores do not decrease. Therefore we fail to
reject the null hypothesis.
To test whether parental marital status affected risk-taking behaviors, we performed a
five factor (Parental Marital Status: Married, Divorced, Separated, Widowed, Never Married)
between-subjects ANOVA on risk-taking. Results were not significant F(4, 86)= .42, p= .79,
ηp
2= .02, such that, having parents that were married (M= 4.61, SD= 1.60) didn’t result in
significantly lower risk-taking scores than having widowed (M= 4.10, SD=1.28), divorced (M=
4.55, SD= 2.00), separated (M=5.40, SD= 0.00), or never married (M=5.07, SD= 1.68) parents.
Additionally, there were no simple main effects found by the Least Significant Differences test.

Therefore we failed to reject the null hypothesis and concluded that parental marital status
probably doesn’t play a role in a person's level of risk-taking.
Discussion
Although previous studies have shown that parenting style plays a role in a child’s
academic performance and overall behaviors, our tests on parenting styles fail to reject the null
hypothesis. Tested variables such as age, gender and parental marital status showed little to no
effect on risk-taking behaviors. The three factor (Parenting Style: Permissive, Authoritarian,
Authoritative) between-subjects ANOVA test we ran showed no significant relationship between
parenting style and risk taking behavior.
Previous studies have shown that parenting styles has a significant effect on overall risk-
taking behavior, but based on our research the results show otherwise. Previous studies have
shown that parenting style plays a role in a child’s academic performance, prevalence of problem
behaviors, and psychosocial development among other things (e.g., Darling, 1999). Although
tests for significance have been ran againsts several variable such as age, gender, parents’ marital
status, the results showed no significance on any of the variables. Bystander presence have been
proved to have a large effect on overall results. Limitation of this study will be surveys based on
target sample (college students of UWEC) instead of a general population on a random sample
basis.
Though the internal validity and the experimental realism of the present study seems
strong, it should be noted that the present study is limited, in that the sample consisted of a
convenience sample and had limited generalizability to the parenting styles as a whole (external
validity). Also, the study suffers from several limitations regarding measurement validity. The
measure of risk-taking behavior has not been validated with parenting styles.

The results of this study in general do not support the notion that different parenting
styles do not affect risk-taking behaviors. Although a significance in results could change the
perspective on a definition of a good parenting style, our research showed otherwise. To change
the research’s validity, changes could be made in future to eliminate self-report bias, investigate
follow-up questions. Thus our focus should not be limited to parenting styles, but could
potentially include other factors such as environment of education and reinforcement styles.

References
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Figure 3. Correlation between age and mean risk-taking score

Appendix A
1. While I was growing up my parents felt that in a well-run home the children should have
their way in the family as often as the parents do.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither Agree or Disagree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
2. Even if their children didn’t agree with them, my parents felt that it was for our own
good if we were forced to conform to what they thought was right.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
3. Whenever my parents told me to do something as I was growing up, they expected me
to do it immediately without asking any questions.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
4. As I was growing up, once family policy had been established, my parents discussed
the reasoning behind the policy with the children in the family.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

5. My parents have always encouraged verbal give-and-take whenever I have felt that
family rules and restrictions were unreasonable.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
6. My parents have always felt that what their children need is to be free to make up their
own minds and to do what they want to do, even if this does not agree with what their
parents might want.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
7. As I was growing up my parents did not allow me to question any decision they had
made.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
8. As I was growing up my parents directed the activities and decisions of the children in
the family through reasoning and discipline.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
9. My parents have always felt that more force should be used by parents in order to get
their children to behave the way they are supposed to.

Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
10. As I was growing up my parents did not feel that I needed to obey rules and
regulations of behavior simply because someone in authority had established them.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up I knew what my parents expected of me in my family, but I also felt
free to discuss those expectations with them when I felt that they were unreasonable.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
My parents felt that wise parents should teach their children early just who is boss in the
family.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up, my parents seldom gave me expectations and guidelines for my
behavior.
Strongly Agree
Agree

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Most of the time as I was growing up my parents did what the children in the family
wanted when making family decisions.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As the children in my family were growing up, my parents consistently gave us direction
and guidance in rational and objective ways.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents would get very upset if I tried to disagree with them.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
My parents feel that most problems in society would be solved if parents would not
restrict their children’s activities, decisions, and desires as they are growing up.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

As I was growing up my parents let me know what behavior she expected of me, and if I
didn’t meet those expectations, they punished me.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents allowed me to decide most things for myself without a
lot of direction from them.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents took the children’s opinions into consideration when
making family decisions, but they would not decide for something simply because the
children wanted it.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
My parents did not view herself as responsible for directing and guiding my behavior as I
was growing up.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

My parents had clear standards of behavior for the children in our home as I was growing
up, but there was willing to adjust those standards to the needs of each of the individual
children in the family.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
My parents gave me direction for my behavior and activities as I was growing up and
they expected me to follow her direction, but they were always willing to listen to my
concerns and to discuss that direction with me.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents allowed me to form my own point of view on family
matters and they generally allowed me to decide for myself what I was going to do.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
My parents has always felt that most problems in society would be solved if we could get
parents to strictly and forcibly deal with their children when they don’t do what they are
supposed to as they are growing up.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

As I was growing up my parents often told me exactly what they wanted me to do and
how they expected me to do it.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents gave me clear direction for my behaviors and activities,
but they also understood when I disagreed with them.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up my parents did not direct the behaviors, activities, and desires of the
children in the family.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up I knew what my parents expected of me in the family and they
insisted that I conform to those expectations simply out of respect for their authority.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
As I was growing up, if my parents made a decision in the family that hurt me, they were
willing to discuss that decision with me and to admit it if they had made a mistake.
Strongly Agree

Agree
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

Appendix B
Gender
Male
Female
Prefer not to answer
Age
Where are you from?
Are you adopted?
Yes
No
If yes:
Were you ever in the foster care system?
Yes
No
Parents Marital Status?
Married
Single
Divorced
If divorced:
Is your mother remarried?
Yes
Is your father remarried?
Yes
No

Appendix C
Do you text and drive on a daily basis?
Always
Sometimes
Never
How often do you use your phone while driving?
Always
Sometimes
Never
How often do you go more than 7 miles over the speed limit?
Always
Sometimes
Never
How often do you drink and drive?
Always
Sometimes
Never
Have you put yourself or others in danger while driving distractedly?
Yes
No
Have you caused a car accident when driving distracted or while under the influence?
Yes
No

Appendix D
How often do you use recreational drugs?
Always
Sometimes
Never
At what age did you start drinking alcohol?
Under age 17
18-20
21 and older
How often do you drink alcohol?
Always
Sometimes
Never
How many drinks do you have a week?
0
1-5
6-10
10 or more
Do you smoke tobacco?
Yes
No
Sometimes

Appendix E
Are you a gambler?
Yes
No
Sometimes
Have there ever been periods lasting 2 weeks or longer when you spent a lot of time
thinking about ways of getting money to gamble with?
Yes
No
Have there ever been periods of time when you needed to gamble with larger amounts of
money or with larger bets than before in order to get the same feeling of excitement?
Yes
No
Have you ever tried but not succeeded in stopping, cutting down, or controlling your
gambling?
Yes
No
Have you ever gambled as a way to escape from personal problems?
Yes
No
Have you ever lied to family members, friends, or others about how much you gamble or
how much money you’ve lost on gambling?
Yes
No
Has there ever been a period of time when if you lost money gambling one day, you
would return another day to win that money back?

Yes
No
Have you ever written a bad check or taken money that didn’t belong to you from family
members or anyone else in order to pay for your gambling?
Yes
No
Has your gambling ever caused serious or repeated problems in your relationships with
any of your family members or friends?
Yes
No
Has your gambling caused you any problems in school such as missing classes, missing
school/work, or your grades dropping?
Yes
No
Have you ever needed to ask family members or anyone else to loan you money or
otherwise bail you out of a desperate money situation that was largely caused by your
gambling?
Yes
No

Appendix F
How likely are you to engage in the following behaviors over the next six months?
Leaving a social event with someone I have just met
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Not Moderately Extremely
Likely Likely Likely
Sex without protection against pregnancy
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sex without protection against sexually transmitted diseases
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Involvement in sexual activities without my consent
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sex with multiple partners
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Sex with someone I have just met or don't know well
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Appendix G
Do you participate in extreme sports (ex. skiing, vehicle racing, cliff climbing, sky
diving, etc.)
Yes
No
Occasionally
Have you been seriously injured due to sports in the past year?
Yes
No
Have you been seriously injured while under the influence of alcohol or other
substances?
Yes
No
Would you consider yourself a risk taker?
1- not at all
5- definite

Appendix H
Parenting Style and Risk-Taking Cover Letter
Anticipated Start Date:
Dear Prospective Research Participant,
You are invited to participate in a study conducted by Erin Bosman, Hannah Marose, and Max Wong,
undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, in partial fulfillment of the course
requirements for PSYC 271, taught by Dr. Jarrod Hines, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This
course is in compliance with the course certification requirements of the University Institutional Review
Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. The main purpose of this study is to determine how
parenting styles affect risk-taking behavior.
If you decide to participate in the study, you will be asked to complete a survey lasting approximately 45-
60 minutes.
Participation is completely voluntary. By returning your completed questionnaires you are giving your
consent to participate in this study. Data will be coded to maintain confidentiality; thus, no data will be
personally identified with you. Your name will not appear in any presentation or publication coming from
this research. If you agree to participate, you may choose not to answer any given questions, and you
may withdraw your consent and discontinue your participation at any time. There are no known risks
beyond the inconvenience of time.
If you have any questions or concerns about the nature of this study, please contact Dr. Jarrod Hines,
Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at hinesjc@uwec.edu or (715) 836-3014.
If you have any questions about your treatment as a human subject in this study, you may contact Dr.
Michael Axelrod, Chair, Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, Schofield 17,
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, (715) 836-2373.
Thank you for your consideration of participating in this study,
Erin Bosman, Hannah Marose,and Max Wong

Parenting Style and Risk-Taking Consent Form
This document is to certify that I, ________________________________________,hereby freely agree
to participate as a volunteer in an undergraduate research study as an authorized part of the educational
and research program of the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire under the supervision of Dr. Jarrod
Hines.
I understand that this is a study conducted by Erin Bosman, Hannah Marose, and Max Wong,
undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, in partial fulfillment of the course
requirements for PSYC 271, taught by Dr. Jarrod Hines, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This
course is in compliance with the course certification requirements of the University Institutional Review
Board for the Protection of Human Subjects.
The research project has been fully explained to me by the researcher and I understand this explanation,
including what I will be asked to do. A copy of the procedures of this investigation and a description of
any risks, discomforts and benefits associated with my participation has been provided and discussed in
detail with me.
I understand that the potential risks associated with my participation in this study include back and/or
eyestrain from sitting at a computer for the duration of the study.
I have been given an opportunity to ask questions, and all such questions have been answered to my
satisfaction.
I understand that I am free to decline to answer any specific items or questions in interviews or
questionnaires and that I can withdraw from the study at any time.
I understand that all data will remain anonymous with regard to my identity.
I understand that participation in this research project is voluntary and not a requirement or a condition
for being the recipient of benefits or services from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire or any other
organization sponsoring the research project.
I understand that the approximate length of time required for participation in this research project is 45 to
60 minutes.
I understand that if I have any questions concerning the purposes or the procedures associated with this
research project, I may call or write:
Dr. Jarrod Hines
Assistant Professor,Department of Psychology
Hibbard Humanities Hall 256
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Sona System Recruitment Form
Study Name: The Effects of Parenting Style on Risk-Taking Behaviors
Brief Abstract:Parenting styles influence children’s behavior. We seek to understand the effect that
growing up with a certain type of parent(s) has on an individual’s risk- taking behavior. The four different
parenting styles are listed as authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. This research will
focus on college aged students and risk-taking behaviors that they may engage in. The categories of risk-
taking behavior that will be focused on are distracted driving, drinking behaviors, gambling, sexual risk,
and other hazardous behaviors that are prone to injuries. Our research aims to understand and identify
how parenting style affects different risk-taking behaviors. We seek to observe a relationship between
parenting style and risky behaviors.
Detailed Description:
I am inviting prospective research participants to participate in a research study investigating how
different parenting styles effect on risk-taking behaviors in children. You will first be asked to complete a
brief survey including questions about your age, gender and parent’s marital status. You will then be
asked to complete a survey, which consisted two major parts. The first part is a series of question about
participation on risk-taking behaviors. The second part assesses your personal experience on parental
authority (e.g.,you might be asked to rate the following question from strongly agree to strongly disagree,
As I was growing up my parents did not direct the behaviors, activities, and desires of the children in the
family).
Following these initial surveys, the main task you will be asked to complete a series of questions, which
consist of answering questions with given choices. You may choose to not answer any questions you do
not feel comfortable answering. Participating in this study will take approximately 45 minutes.
Your decision to participate in this study is completely voluntary. You are not required to participate and
declining to participate in no way jeopardizes your academic standing or evaluation in your psychology
class. If you agree to participate, you may choose not to answer any given questions, and you may
withdraw your consent and discontinue your participation at any time without penalty or loss of benefits
to which you are otherwise entitled.
All information obtained in this study is strictly anonymous. That means your name and other identifying
information will never be directly linked to the data. The results of this research study may be used in
reports, presentations, and publications, but the researchers will not identify you.
In this project, potential risks include back and/or eye strain from sitting at the computer for 45- 60
minutes. Breaks may be taken during the instructions screens for the purpose of standing up and
stretching. Also, computer monitors and chairs will be adjusted at the participant's request in order to
provide the maximum comfort available. Benefits to your participation include course credit or extra
credit per your psychology instructor’s policy.
Duration: 45 minutes Credits:3
Debriefing Handout: The Effects of Parenting Style on Risk-Taking Behavior

Thank you very much for participating in our experiment. This research would not be possible without
your help. The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between parenting styles and risk-
taking behavior.
We wanted the focus of our research to be on college aged students and risk-taking behaviors that they
may engage in. The categories of risk-taking behavior that were indirectly observed are distracted driving,
drinking behaviors, gambling, sexual risk, and other hazardous behaviors that are prone to injuries. These
behaviors were observed in correlation with four main parenting styles categorized as authoritarian,
authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved. Your parent(s) may fit into one or more of these categories.
Our research aims to understand and identify how parenting style affects different risk-taking behaviors.
We seek to observe a relationship between parenting style and risky behaviors. To examine this potential
relationship between parenting style and risk-taking behavior, we are conducting an indirect, quasi-
experiment where participants will answer a number of questions related to their parent’s behavior and
their personal participation in different risky behaviors; which you have now completed. If any questions
were unclear or have made you uncomfortable we ask,that you contact us with any questions or
comments related to this study. Furthermore, we can provide you with more resources to help provide
more clarity to our study, or if you feelany type of distress.
Thank you again for participating in our study! Your responses are incredibly important to us. If you have
any questions or concerns about the nature of this study, please contact Jarrod Hines, Department of
Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI 54702 at hinesjc@uwec.edu.
Thank you for helping in this research.
Sincerely,
Jarrod C. Hines, PhD
Assistant Professor,Department of Psychology
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Email: hinesjc@uwec.edu
Phone: 715-836-3014

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