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Fearful Kids More Likely to Become Conservatives
from DiscoveryNews.com
People raised by parents who value obedience are more likely to vote conservative, research suggests.
Zombie Reagan doesn’t scare me as much as Nancy Pelosi.
Parenting style and childhood temperament might play roles in shaping one’s political mindset, new research suggests. Specifically, kids who have fearful temperaments and are raised by parents who value obedience are more likely to endorse conservative ideologies as young adults, the study found.
A team led by psychology researcher R. Chris Fraley of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examined data from 708 children who originally participated in a National Institute on Child Health and Human Development study. Based on the parents’ answers to questionnaires when the kids were 1 month old, the researchers determined which parents fell into the authoritarian camp (those who, for example, agreed with the statement “Children should always obey their parents”) and which ones were more egalitarian.
The researchers also looked at the mothers’ assessments of their kids’ temperaments at 4 1/2 years old and broke down childhood disposition with five factors: restlessness-activity, shyness, attentional focusing, passivity and fear.
The team found that children with authoritarian parents were more likely to have conservative values at age 18. Meanwhile, children who had parents with egalitarian parenting attitudes were more likely to have liberal political attitudes at that age.
In addition, children with higher levels of fearfulness during young childhood were more likely to turn out conservative, and kids with higher levels of attentional focusing and activity or restlessness were more likely to be liberal. The researchers controlled for gender, ethnic background, cognitive functioning and socioeconomic status.
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I had to look up – egalitarian. It means, “adj. Affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people.” So, a socialist?
Sorry Discovery, I had a great childhood. I wasn’t fearful or afraid-just introverted. I’m an artist so my stereotype says I should be liberal. Explain that one. Yeesh.
Mr.Gates
October 27th, 2012
Another liberal appeal to an authoritative “study” that diminishes those people who are superior to them.
“…children who had parents with egalitarian parenting attitudes were more likely to have liberal political attitudes at that age.” They are also found to be more at risk for mental illness, substance abuse, social diseases, homosexuality, domestic abuse, dropping out, laziness, gullibility, homelessness, incarceration, abusing welfare, and registering as Democrats.
Egalitarianism is evil. It says everyone gets everything in equal proportion to everyone else, without regard for the real needs of each individual. All of whom are different. That’s what gave us Title 9, which destroyed many men’s athletic programs, because they couldn’t find enough women athletes to spend the same amount of money on. So the men got cut.
Billy Fuster
October 27th, 2012
Damn right! We’re scared of having our freedom taken away by commies and muzzies–with good reason!
CrustyB
October 27th, 2012
Conservatives understand that there are consequences. That’s why we don’t spend money we don’t have, underpower our military or shove riots cops.
Anonymous
October 27th, 2012
“Meanwhile, children who had parents with egalitarian parenting attitudes were more likely to have liberal political attitudes at that age.”
Aren’t these the adults that crash the toddlers’ Easter Egg Hunts ?
phil.arbeit
October 27th, 2012
IF this study has any merit, it further explains the progtard imperative to get their hands on our children at the youngest possible age (Head Start age three) to begin the “egaltarian” inculcation. They want to make all of our children good little liberals when they grow up. Mark Steyn’s piece on Big Bird hinted at this as well a couple weeks ago.
SgtZim
October 27th, 2012
So obnoxious little brats that have no parental supervision, guidance, or discipline will be progressives. Whoda thunk it!
J Frank Parnell
October 27th, 2012
“Fearfulness” is a personality trait? Like to see the diagnostic criteria differentiating it from introversion, empathy, and their effects on consequence planning. Also not addressed is liberals’ lacking the ability to move beyond Stage 1 thinking at that age, or any age. Bet that is not addressed when controlling for “intelligence.”
Seems to me the Libtard Mutation (DRD4) is not controlled in the study either.
Edith McCrotch
October 27th, 2012
Let’s see, when I was 18 I voted a straight Republican ticket, so that means my parents were authoritarian?
You’re damn skippy they were, so what’s the problem?
Ornery1
October 27th, 2012
If this was true, then the opposite–”brave” and “liberal” in the same sentence wouldn’t sound like a non sequitur.
Dr. Tar
October 27th, 2012
So liberals are basically infants that never grow up. They expect others to take care of them and don’t know how to handle adversity.
norman einstein
October 27th, 2012
Conservative = spare the rod, spoil the child.
Liberal = let the little angel “express himself”.
Mustn’t quash his self-esteem.
FreeMan & Sarah Voting Early & Often
October 27th, 2012
This can’t be accurate. If it were than everyone in Hollywood wouldn’t be liberals.
FreeMan & Sarah Voting Early & Often
October 27th, 2012
Close norman einstein – i like it this way.
Liberal = spare the scissors, rise a child.
Major Mal function
October 27th, 2012
The author’s word processor has an error. It keeps substituting “egalitarian” for “clueless”.
Tony R
October 27th, 2012
The fearfulness trait is nonsense. How then to explain the overwhelming majority of conservatives in our all-volunteer armed services? What a pant-load of KRAP.
deli doug
October 27th, 2012
the babies that lie down with their legs spread open are prog/libbies and will then be placed in the standard clear plastic skinner boxes for the first 24 months – the wrong babies that lie down with their legs close together are conservatives will be placed in the new and improved all black skinner boxes for the first 72 months
Tony R
October 27th, 2012
This of course is another example of a pseudoscientific study with a predetermined outcome. The personality traits of conservatives are labeled with derogatory terms and those of progressives with complementary ones. For example children who analyze a situation aren’t “thoughtful” they are “fearful”. See how much fun it is to spend federal grant money!
Ten Megaton
October 27th, 2012
Bullshit. If they grow up SANE they are conservative.
Absolute muddjuice
October 27th, 2012
So now children obeying their parents is a bad thing too? They are trying to destroy the family at every turn.
Does the study determine how many of the liberal parents kids end up on drugs, welfare, disability, in jail, prison, jobless, hopeless and clueless, begging the “evil”conservatives for money and chastising us if we refuse to give them free handouts?
Didn’t think so…….
jwm
October 27th, 2012
Looks like the kid just found out how much money he already owes- thanks to Obama.
JWM
Kermit
October 27th, 2012
During the last Presidential election, they came out with a similar study. They showed pictures, and Conservatives reacted stronger. They claimed the reaction was fear. However, my reaction to a picture of a bloody wound, a cockroach on a cake or a spider climbing on a skull isn’t fear it is disgust. Maybe these researchers need to determine if it is fear or disgust that they are measuring.
Tim
October 27th, 2012
“Absolute Awareness is Perfect Paranoia.”
Many become fearful when they become aware that the world is run on mendacity.