Flanagan, Constance A.

Wray-Lake, Laura

English

Scholarship@Claremont

Claremont CollegesScholarship @ ClaremontCGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship1-1-2009Correlates of Mothers' Value Messages ofCompassion and Caution Over TimeLaura Wray-LakeClaremont Graduate UniversityConstance A. FlanaganUniversity of Wisconsin - MadisonThis Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusionin CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contactscholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.Recommended CitationWray-Lake, L., & Flanagan, C. A. (2009, November). Correlates of mothers’ messages of compassion and vigilance over time. Posterpresented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Francisco, California.Correlates of Mothers’ Value Messages of Compassion and Caution Over TimeLaura Wray-Lake & Constance A. FlanaganThe Pennsylvania State UniversityIntroductionMessages of compassion and caution represent two fundamental value dimensions parents communicate to children regarding how to treat and interact with others (Flanagan, 2003).Value socialization is typically discussed without specifying which values are being imparted, yet socialization processes may differ depending on the value dimension in question (Kuczynski & Grusec, 1997).Parenting strategies change substantially in response to developmental shifts across adolescence (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994; Kerr & Stattin, 2003). Moreover,parents’ socialization strategies may be most effective when they fit both the childand his or her environment (Dix, 1992; Kuczynski & Hildebrandt, 1997).Study AimsWe aim to predict individual differences and within-person changes in mothers’ value messages of compassion and caution over time. Our predictors include adolescent age, gender, transitions, and activities, as well as mother characteristics and family and neighborhood contexts.  Data came from the Social Responsibility and Prevention Project, a three-year longitudinal study of adolescents, parents, and teachers from eight school districts in   Pennsylvania and Michigan.Imputing missing data, analyses utilized adolescents and their mothers who completed at least one wave of data (N = 1638); 717 dyads (44%) completed 2 and 259 (36%) completed 3 waves. Table 1 shows sample characteristics at wave 1. Predictor variables came from mothers and adolescents across three annual  waves. In Table 2, we present characteristics of the longitudinal measures, including scale reliability and means.Table 1. Sample Characteristics at Wave 1 Note. Descriptive statistics were derived from data imputed with the EM method. aMothers’ education was measured using a 5-point scale from Did Not Finish High School (1) to Master’s, Ph.D., or Professional Degree (5); Sample mean reflected Some Training after High School / Community College (3). We conducted multilevel modeling using SAS PROC MIXED 9.1 where occasions were nested within persons.Separate models were fit for mothers’ value messages of compassion and caution.Cohort sequential data were modeled using relatively orthogonal linear and quadratic polynomials for age and their Level 2 means.To address missing data, multiple imputation was employed using 91 variables.We used 40 datasets to avoid power fall-off (Graham, Olchowski, & Gilreath, 2006). Diagnostic plots indicated that parameters were estimated well, and relative efficiency estimates were above 98%.Table 2. Characteristics of Longitudinal Measures Note. Descriptive statistics were derived from data imputed with the EM method. M=Mother report. R=Researcher collected. A=Adolescent report. aCoded as 0 (no transition) versus 1 (made the transition). bCoded as 0 (have not been bullied) versus 1. (adolescent or friend experienced bullying).cSubstance use items were standardized for analysis. Adolescent AgeMothers’ messages of compassion declined in relation to adolescents’ age. Declines were steeper in early adolescence, and leveled off somewhat in late adolescence (see Figure 1). Mothers’ messages of caution also declined in relation to adolescents’ age. Mothers of older adolescents showed flatter curves and lower levels than mothersof younger adolescents (see Figure 2). Analytic PlanResults3.53.7544.254.54.75510 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19Caution MessagesAgeFigure 1. Mothers’ Compassion Messages: Growth Curves by CohortFigure 2. Mothers’ Caution Messages: Growth Curves by Cohort3.53.7544.254.54.75510 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19Compassion MessagesAgeDiscussionAdolescent GenderMothers of boys emphasized caution less than mothers of girls.Mothers’ messages of compassion did not differ by adolescent gender. Adolescent TransitionsMothers decreased messages of compassion at times when their adolescents reported that they or a friend had been bullied. Transitions to middle and high school were not significantly associated with mothers’ value messages.Adolescent ActivitiesAdolescents with more positive attitudes toward substance use had mothers who communicated less about compassion.Adolescents who volunteered more often had mothers with higher reports of compassion and lower reports of caution.  However, activity variables were not significant in, and thus were excluded from, the full models shown in Table 3. Table 3. Multilevel Models for Mothers’ Value Messages of Compassion and CautionNote. Linear age was centered at age 14. Imputed parameters are shown. aL1=Level 1 Effects. bL2=Level 2 Effects. cReference=White. †p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.Family ContextMothers with greater knowledge of their child’s friends communicated more about compassion.   Mothers with greater concerns about their child’s future reported communicatingmore messages of compassion and caution. Moreover, increases in concerns were associated with increases in messages of caution.Family religiosity was associated with greater emphasis on compassion.Neighborhood ContextWhen mothers increased perceptions that substances are easily obtained in the community, they also increased their messages of caution.Adolescents’ reports of  neighborhood cohesion were positively associatedwith mothers’ messages of compassion.Analyses support the theoretical tenets that parenting is often flexible and socialization practices are adapted based on adolescents’ age, experiences, and contexts. Mothers may report less values communication with older adolescents because they have fewer opportunities for such communication and/or due to a desire to   not overcontrol their maturing teens. The different evidence compiled for the two types of value messages demonstrates the importance of examining value content in research endeavorsaimed at understanding value socialization processes.Results illustrate to researchers, practitioners, and parents some of the ways inwhich value messages can be tailored to adolescents’ developmental contexts. Analyses were funded by NIDA Grant F31-DA 024543 to Laura Wray-Lake. Data collection was supported by NIDA Grant R01-DA 13434 to Constance Flanagan.Contact Information: Laura Wray-Lake (ldw134@psu.edu). Mean  / Frequency Range Adolescent Age 13.13  10–19 Adolescent Gender (Male=1)  0.45 0, 1 Mothers’ Educationa 2.90 1–5 Mothers’ Race (Ref=White)        Black 0.09 0, 1      Other 0.05 0, 1 Married  (Yes=1, No=0) 0.78 0, 1 Family Religiosity (Yes=1, No=0) 0.71 0, 1   N Items Alphas Range Mean     Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Mothers’ Value Messages           Compassion (M) 6 .74, .77, .78 1–5 4.36 4.23 4.18     Caution (M) 4 .64, .63, .71 1–5 3.90 3.92 3.82 Adolescent Transitions           Transition to Middle Schoola (R) 1  –  0, 1 0.10 0.21 0.29     Transition to High Schoola (R) 1  –  0, 1 0.08 0.22 0.28     Experienced Bullyingb (A) 1  –  0, 1 0.53 0.41 0.29 Adolescent Activities           Substance Usec (A) 5 .77, .81, .82 1–6 1.53 1.56 1.64     Substance Use Attitudes (A) 3 .56, .63, .69 1–5 1.97 2.01 2.09     Community Service (A) 1  –  0, 1 0.65 0.47 0.53 Family Context           Mothers’ Knowledge (M) 4 .83, .87, .81 1–3 2.32 2.49 2.45     Mothers’ Concerns (M) 6 .77, .76, .77 1–3 2.27 2.19 2.14 Neighborhood Context            Ease of Substance Use (M) 3 .93, .93, .95 1–5 3.12 3.31 3.36     Neighborhood Cohesion (A) 8 .85, .86, .88 1–5 3.53 3.44 3.42   Mothers’ Value Messages Fixed Effects Compassion Caution Intercept 4.53(.12)*** 3.37(.16)*** Adolescent Age      Age Linear: L1a -.09(.01)*** -.04(.01)**    Age Linear: L2b .08(.01)*** .03(.01)†    Age Linear L1 X Age Linear: L2 -.07(.03)** .13(.03)***    Age Quadratic: L1 .04(.01)** -.06(.02)***    Age Quadratic: L2 .04(.01)** -.07(.02)*** Adolescent Gender: L2      (Male=1, Female=0) -.03(.02) -.05(.02)* Mother Characteristics: L2      Education -.01(.01) -.04(.01)***    Married (Yes=1, No=0)  .02(.02) -.07(.03)**    Race: Blackc -.01(.04) .14(.04)***    Race: Otherc -.03(.05) .01(.05) Adolescent Transitions      Transition to Middle School: L1 .01(.03)     .06(.04)    Transition to Middle School: L2 -.05(.05) -.11(.06)†    Transition to High School: L1 -.02(.03) .04(.04)    Transition to High School: L2 .03(.05) .002(.06)    Experienced Bullying: L1 -.03(.02)* -.02(.02)    Experienced Bullying: L2 .07(.04)† .04(.05) Family Context      Knowledge of Child’s Friends: L1 .02(.02) -.001(.03)    Knowledge of Child’s Friends: L2 .13(.03)*** -.003(.04)    Mothers’ Concerns: L1 .02(.02) .06(.03)*    Mothers’ Concerns: L2 .07(.03)* .28(.04)***    Family Religiosity: L2 .06(.03)* .01(.03) Neighborhood Context      Ease of Substance Use: L1 -.001(.01) .02(.01)*    Ease of Substance Use: L2 .004(.01) -.02(.02)    Neighborhood Cohesion: L1 .003(.01) -.01(.02)    Neighborhood Cohesion: L2 .06(.02)*** -.02(.02)  Method

Correlates of Mothers\u27 Value Messages of Compassion and Caution Over Time

Keck Graduate Institute

Claremont Colleges
Scholarship @ Claremont
CGU Faculty Publications and Research CGU Faculty Scholarship
1-1-2009
Correlates of Mothers' Value Messages of
Compassion and Caution Over Time
Laura Wray-Lake
Claremont Graduate University
Constance A. Flanagan
University of Wisconsin - Madison
This Poster is brought to you for free and open access by the CGU Faculty Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion
in CGU Faculty Publications and Research by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact
scholarship@cuc.claremont.edu.
Recommended Citation
Wray-Lake, L., & Flanagan, C. A. (2009, November). Correlates of mothers’ messages of compassion and vigilance over time. Poster
presented at the annual meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, San Francisco, California.
Correlates of Mothers’ Value Messages of Compassion and Caution Over Time
Laura Wray-Lake & Constance A. Flanagan
The Pennsylvania State University
Introduction
Messages of compassion and caution represent two fundamental value dimensions 
parents communicate to children regarding how to treat and interact with 
others (Flanagan, 2003).
Value socialization is typically discussed without specifying which values are being 
imparted, yet socialization processes may differ depending on the value dimension 
in question (Kuczynski & Grusec, 1997).
Parenting strategies change substantially in response to developmental 
shifts across adolescence (Grusec & Goodnow, 1994; Kerr & Stattin, 2003). Moreover,
parents’ socialization strategies may be most effective when they fit both the child
and his or her environment (Dix, 1992; Kuczynski & Hildebrandt, 1997).
Study Aims
We aim to predict individual differences and within-person changes in 
mothers’ value messages of compassion and caution over time. Our predictors 
include adolescent age, gender, transitions, and activities, as well as mother 
characteristics and family and neighborhood contexts.  
Data came from the Social Responsibility and Prevention Project, a three-year 
longitudinal study of adolescents, parents, and teachers from eight school districts in   
Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Imputing missing data, analyses utilized adolescents and their mothers who 
completed at least one wave of data (N = 1638); 717 dyads (44%) completed 2 
and 259 (36%) completed 3 waves. Table 1 shows sample characteristics at wave 1. 
Predictor variables came from mothers and adolescents across three annual  
waves. In Table 2, we present characteristics of the longitudinal measures, including 
scale reliability and means.
Table 1. Sample Characteristics at Wave 1 
Note. Descriptive statistics were derived from data imputed with the EM method. 
aMothers’ education was measured using a 5-point scale from Did Not Finish High School (1) to 
Master’s, Ph.D., or Professional Degree (5); Sample mean reflected Some Training after High School / 
Community College (3). 
We conducted multilevel modeling using SAS PROC MIXED 9.1 where 
occasions were nested within persons.
Separate models were fit for mothers’ value messages of compassion and caution.
Cohort sequential data were modeled using relatively orthogonal linear and 
quadratic polynomials for age and their Level 2 means.
To address missing data, multiple imputation was employed using 91 variables.
We used 40 datasets to avoid power fall-off (Graham, Olchowski, & Gilreath, 2006). 
Diagnostic plots indicated that parameters were estimated well, and relative 
efficiency estimates were above 98%.
Table 2. Characteristics of Longitudinal Measures 
Note. Descriptive statistics were derived from data imputed with the EM method. M=Mother report. R=Researcher collected. A=Adolescent report. 
aCoded as 0 (no transition) versus 1 (made the transition). bCoded as 0 (have not been bullied) versus 1. (adolescent or friend experienced bullying).
cSubstance use items were standardized for analysis. 
Adolescent Age
Mothers’ messages of compassion declined in relation to adolescents’ age. 
Declines were steeper in early adolescence, and leveled off somewhat in late 
adolescence (see Figure 1). 
Mothers’ messages of caution also declined in relation to adolescents’ age. 
Mothers of older adolescents showed flatter curves and lower levels than mothers
of younger adolescents (see Figure 2). 
Analytic Plan
Results
3.5
3.75
4
4.25
4.5
4.75
5
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
C
au
tio
n 
M
es
sa
ge
s
Age
Figure 1. Mothers’ Compassion Messages: Growth Curves by Cohort
Figure 2. Mothers’ Caution Messages: Growth Curves by Cohort
3.5
3.75
4
4.25
4.5
4.75
5
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
C
om
pa
ss
io
n 
M
es
sa
ge
s
Age
Discussion
Adolescent Gender
Mothers of boys emphasized caution less than mothers of girls.
Mothers’ messages of compassion did not differ by adolescent gender. 
Adolescent Transitions
Mothers decreased messages of compassion at times when their adolescents 
reported that they or a friend had been bullied. 
Transitions to middle and high school were not significantly associated with 
mothers’ value messages.
Adolescent Activities
Adolescents with more positive attitudes toward substance use had mothers 
who communicated less about compassion.
Adolescents who volunteered more often had mothers with higher reports of 
compassion and lower reports of caution.  
However, activity variables were not significant in, and thus were excluded 
from, the full models shown in Table 3. 
Table 3. Multilevel Models for Mothers’ Value Messages of Compassion and Caution
Note. Linear age was centered at age 14. Imputed parameters are shown. aL1=Level 1 Effects. bL2=Level 2 Effects. 
cReference=White. †p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.
Family Context
Mothers with greater knowledge of their child’s friends communicated more 
about compassion.   
Mothers with greater concerns about their child’s future reported communicating
more messages of compassion and caution. Moreover, increases in concerns 
were associated with increases in messages of caution.
Family religiosity was associated with greater emphasis on compassion.
Neighborhood Context
When mothers increased perceptions that substances are easily obtained in the 
community, they also increased their messages of caution.
Adolescents’ reports of  neighborhood cohesion were positively associated
with mothers’ messages of compassion.
Analyses support the theoretical tenets that parenting is often flexible and 
socialization practices are adapted based on adolescents’ age, experiences, 
and contexts. 
Mothers may report less values communication with older adolescents because 
they have fewer opportunities for such communication and/or due to a desire to   
not overcontrol their maturing teens. 
The different evidence compiled for the two types of value messages 
demonstrates the importance of examining value content in research endeavors
aimed at understanding value socialization processes.
Results illustrate to researchers, practitioners, and parents some of the ways in
which value messages can be tailored to adolescents’ developmental contexts. 
Analyses were funded by NIDA Grant F31-DA 024543 to Laura Wray-Lake. Data collection was supported by NIDA Grant R01-DA 13434 to Constance Flanagan.
Contact Information: Laura Wray-Lake (ldw134@psu.edu).
 Mean  / 
Frequency 
Range 
Adolescent Age 13.13  10–19 
Adolescent Gender (Male=1)  0.45 0, 1 
Mothers’ Educationa 2.90 1–5 
Mothers’ Race (Ref=White)   
     Black 0.09 0, 1 
     Other 0.05 0, 1 
Married  (Yes=1, No=0) 0.78 0, 1 
Family Religiosity (Yes=1, No=0) 0.71 0, 1 
 
 N Items Alphas Range Mean 
    Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 
Mothers’ Value Messages       
    Compassion (M) 6 .74, .77, .78 1–5 4.36 4.23 4.18 
    Caution (M) 4 .64, .63, .71 1–5 3.90 3.92 3.82 
Adolescent Transitions       
    Transition to Middle Schoola (R) 1  –  0, 1 0.10 0.21 0.29 
    Transition to High Schoola (R) 1  –  0, 1 0.08 0.22 0.28 
    Experienced Bullyingb (A) 1  –  0, 1 0.53 0.41 0.29 
Adolescent Activities       
    Substance Usec (A) 5 .77, .81, .82 1–6 1.53 1.56 1.64 
    Substance Use Attitudes (A) 3 .56, .63, .69 1–5 1.97 2.01 2.09 
    Community Service (A) 1  –  0, 1 0.65 0.47 0.53 
Family Context       
    Mothers’ Knowledge (M) 4 .83, .87, .81 1–3 2.32 2.49 2.45 
    Mothers’ Concerns (M) 6 .77, .76, .77 1–3 2.27 2.19 2.14 
Neighborhood Context        
    Ease of Substance Use (M) 3 .93, .93, .95 1–5 3.12 3.31 3.36 
    Neighborhood Cohesion (A) 8 .85, .86, .88 1–5 3.53 3.44 3.42 
 
 Mothers’ Value Messages 
Fixed Effects Compassion Caution 
Intercept 4.53(.12)*** 3.37(.16)*** 
Adolescent Age   
   Age Linear: L1a -.09(.01)*** -.04(.01)** 
   Age Linear: L2b .08(.01)*** .03(.01)† 
   Age Linear L1 X Age Linear: L2 -.07(.03)** .13(.03)*** 
   Age Quadratic: L1 .04(.01)** -.06(.02)*** 
   Age Quadratic: L2 .04(.01)** -.07(.02)*** 
Adolescent Gender: L2   
   (Male=1, Female=0) -.03(.02) -.05(.02)* 
Mother Characteristics: L2   
   Education -.01(.01) -.04(.01)*** 
   Married (Yes=1, No=0)  .02(.02) -.07(.03)** 
   Race: Blackc -.01(.04) .14(.04)*** 
   Race: Otherc -.03(.05) .01(.05) 
Adolescent Transitions   
   Transition to Middle School: L1 .01(.03)     .06(.04) 
   Transition to Middle School: L2 -.05(.05) -.11(.06)† 
   Transition to High School: L1 -.02(.03) .04(.04) 
   Transition to High School: L2 .03(.05) .002(.06) 
   Experienced Bullying: L1 -.03(.02)* -.02(.02) 
   Experienced Bullying: L2 .07(.04)† .04(.05) 
Family Context   
   Knowledge of Child’s Friends: L1 .02(.02) -.001(.03) 
   Knowledge of Child’s Friends: L2 .13(.03)*** -.003(.04) 
   Mothers’ Concerns: L1 .02(.02) .06(.03)* 
   Mothers’ Concerns: L2 .07(.03)* .28(.04)*** 
   Family Religiosity: L2 .06(.03)* .01(.03) 
Neighborhood Context   
   Ease of Substance Use: L1 -.001(.01) .02(.01)* 
   Ease of Substance Use: L2 .004(.01) -.02(.02) 
   Neighborhood Cohesion: L1 .003(.01) -.01(.02) 
   Neighborhood Cohesion: L2 .06(.02)*** -.02(.02) 
 
Method


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Correlates of Mothers\u27 Value Messages of Compassion and Caution Over Time

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