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Trial Title
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Parenting Styles and Their Determinants: A New Survey-Based Exploration
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Parenting Styles and Their Determinants: A Survey and RCT Study
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Abstract
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Before
This project represents a new and innovative data collection effort on parenting in the United States. The survey has a dual purpose, combining both descriptive and experimental components to deepen our understanding of parenting decisions in contemporary society.
The first part is descriptive and aims to capture and characterize parenting choices across a broad set of dimensions. Drawing on established classifications of parenting styles (e.g., Baumrind, 1967)—a framework now widely used in economics (see Doepke and Zilibotti, 2017; Doepke, Sorrenti, and Zilibotti, 2019)—we collect detailed information on how parents approach decisions related to residential choices, educational investments, how they promote and support their children’s school effort, whether and how they intervene in their children's peer group formation, and broader child-rearing practices and household dynamics. These choices are analyzed conditional on key characteristics such as household income, parental education, current and past residential location, and other relevant socio-demographic factors. This section seeks to document new insights into how parenting varies across different segments of the population.
The second part of the survey adopts an experimental approach to better understand the determinants of parenting choices—specifically, how these choices might shift in response to changes in the family’s socio-economic environment. To this end, we randomly assign respondents to different hypothetical scenarios that simulate real-life conditions, such as relocating to a neighborhood with higher crime prevalence or encountering a change in the school admission system. Each respondent first answers a set of questions about their parenting styles. They are then exposed to a randomized treatment—such as being told they have moved to a neighborhood with specific characteristics—after which they are asked the same set of parenting questions again. This before-and-after comparison allows us to identify how parenting choices respond to perceived changes in the environment.
Respondents are assigned to one of several treatment arms, each corresponding to a different scenario relevant to parenting. In addition, we include a control group that receives neutral information unrelated to parenting or the family environment (e.g., general historical facts). By comparing responses across treatment and control groups, as well as within individuals before and after the hypothetical scenarios, we aim to assess the sensitivity of parenting decisions to specific environmental factors and uncover the mechanisms through which context shapes parental behavior and styles.
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This project represents a data collection, through both a survey and an RCT with vignettes, on parenting styles in the United States and how conditions about the neighbourhood or about access to social media affect them. The survey experiment is conducted all at once on 4816 respondents located in the US and it is made of two parts.
The first part is descriptive and aims to capture and characterize parenting choices across a broad set of dimensions. Drawing on established classifications of parenting styles (e.g., Baumrind, 1967)—a framework now widely used in economics (see Doepke and Zilibotti, 2017; Doepke, Sorrenti, and Zilibotti, 2019)—we collect detailed information on how parents approach decisions related to residential choices, educational investments, interference with their children's use of social media, how they promote and support their children’s school effort, whether and how they intervene in their children's peer group formation, and broader child-rearing practices and household dynamics. These choices are solicited alongside key characteristics such as household income, parental education, current and past residential location, and other relevant socio-demographic factors. This section seeks to document new insights into how parenting varies across different segments of the population.
The second part assigns through an RCT a set of six vignettes or hypothetical situations: 3 on neighbourhoods characteristics, 3 on social media and one placebo. The treatments on neighbourhood represents hypothetical changes, which relate to specific characteristics such as safety or school quality. The treatments on social media depict hypothetical situations with expanded or restricted access to social media. In all cases the respondents are presented with a trade-off between the benefits and risk of social interactions (either in person or virtual). Prior to the treatments we present a set of questions about parenting choices, we then measure how they update this behaviour after being treated with the hypothetical situation.
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Trial Start Date
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October 01, 2025
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December 04, 2025
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Trial End Date
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October 31, 2025
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December 31, 2026
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Last Published
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August 08, 2025 07:19 AM
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December 02, 2025 05:49 PM
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Intervention (Public)
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We plan to implement a new survey data collection that combines detailed questions on parenting styles with a randomized experimental component. The general survey section will gather rich information on how parents make decisions related to residential choices, educational investments, peer group formation, and broader household dynamics. The experimental component introduces randomized hypothetical scenarios designed to simulate changes in the family’s socio-economic environment. For example, some respondents will be asked to imagine relocating to a neighborhood with specific features such as higher crime rates or lower school quality, while others may receive information about the introduction of new admission criteria to top schools, etc. Respondents first answer a set of parenting-related questions, then receive one of these treatments or a control condition unrelated to parenting and are asked the same questions again. This design enables within-subject comparisons and allows us to identify how parenting behaviors and styles respond to perceived environmental changes.
We will use the new data generated by this survey in two complementary ways: (i) to conduct reduced-form analyses that exploit the random assignment of treatments to identify how parenting styles and behaviors shift in response to different "shocks"; and (ii) to estimate structural models of family decision-making and human capital formation. This will allow us to assess the underlying preferences and trade-offs parents face and to infer broader implications for intergenerational mobility, the transmission of preferences, social inclusion, and the development of individual human capital.
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After
We plan to implement a new survey data collection that combines detailed questions on parenting styles with a randomized experimental component. The general survey section will gather rich information on how parents make decisions related to residential choices, educational investments, peer group formation, and broader household dynamics. The experimental component introduces randomized hypothetical scenarios: 3 of them are on changes in characteristics of the neighbourhood (improved or worst safety, change in school quality), 3 on social media (restrictions or extension) and one placebo. Respondents first answer a set of parenting-related questions, then receive one of these treatments or a control condition unrelated to parenting and are asked the same questions again. This design enables within-subject comparisons and allows us to identify how parenting behaviors and styles respond to perceived environmental changes.
We will use the new data generated by this survey in two complementary ways: (i) to conduct reduced-form analyses that exploit the random assignment of treatments to identify how parenting styles and behaviors shift in response to different "shocks"; and (ii) to estimate structural models of family decision-making and human capital formation. This will allow us to assess the underlying preferences and trade-offs parents face and to infer broader implications for intergenerational mobility, the transmission of preferences, social inclusion, and the development of individual human capital.
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Intervention Start Date
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October 01, 2025
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December 04, 2025
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Intervention End Date
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October 30, 2025
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December 25, 2025
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Primary Outcomes (End Points)
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The goal is to measure the pecuniary and non-pecuniary motives behind parenting choices and to assess their role on various society's outcome by estimating structural models with the survey data. Preferences and expectations, which are typically involved into lifetime choices such as locations, are hard to identify from actual data due to a selection effect. This motivates the need for the random assignment of each respondent to a hypothetical new situation/scenario.
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The outcomes correspond to survey questions related to:
- parental interference in child/s choice of friends
- parental monitoring of online activities
- parental use of strict screen time usage rules
- parental concerns on child’s mental health
- parental adjustment of time and resources to support child activities and development
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Experimental Design (Public)
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This study explores how parents make decisions related to their children’s upbringing, with a focus on residential choices and other important decisions at the family level. Respondents are randomly assigned to hypothetical scenarios in which they are asked to imagine moving to a new neighborhood. These scenarios vary contextual features— such as crime prevalence or school quality—to assess how different factors influence parenting styles. A control group is exposed to information unrelated to parenting or residential decisions.
Multiple scenarios, likely two or three, will be developed and may be implemented in different waves of the survey, depending on feasibility issues related with the data collection process.
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This study explores how parents make decisions related to their children’s upbringing and how those interact with characteristics of the neighborhood or the involvement with social media. Respondents are randomly assigned to hypothetical scenarios involving either budget neutral changes in the characteristics of the neighborhood or in the access to social media. A control group is exposed to information unrelated to parenting decisions.
We will estimate treatment effects under a controlled setting with randomized assignment. We will also estimate treatment effects weighted by the salience (measured effective exposure) of each respondent to the randomly assigned treatment. We will examine whether these treatments affect respondents’ stated intentions regarding parenting behaviors.
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Planned Number of Clusters
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Total number of units is approximately 10,000 households roughly (one respondent per household). We plan three or four randomisation arms and a minimum of 2000 units per cluster.
We are evaluating whether to administer a treatment of a second hypothetical scenario in a second wave.
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Total number of units is 4816 households.
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Planned Number of Observations
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From 7500 to 10000 family heads/ respondents.
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4816 respondents
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Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
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We expect 2,000-2,500 or more per treatment arm, hence about four randomised treatment arms.
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The six treatments and the placebo are equally assigned among the 4816 respondents
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Additional Keyword(s)
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Parenting styles, Intergenerational transmission of preferences, Intergenerational mobility, Culture and social stratification, Amenities, Labor market prospects, Exposure to learning, Social media, Financial constraints
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Parenting styles, Peer effects, Amenities, Neighbourhood choice, Labor market prospects, Exposure to learning, Social media.
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Intervention (Hidden)
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Measuring parenting styles and investments is inherently challenging, given their multidimensional and often unobservable nature. To address this, our survey combines questions on parenting behaviors and styles from multiple validated sources, including the World Values Survey, Add Health, and other established parenting questionnaires. These instruments are supplemented with additional items specifically tailored to capture key aspects of parenting decisions, such as educational investments, involvement in children’s peer relationships, residential preferences, and broader household dynamics. This integrated approach allows for a richer and more comprehensive characterization of family decision-making.
Since preferences and expectations—especially those related to major life choices and parenting strategies—are difficult to identify from observational data due to selection effects, the second part of the study incorporates an experimental component based on randomized hypothetical scenarios. Respondents are first asked a set of questions about their parenting behaviors and attitudes. They are then randomly assigned to a treatment designed to simulate a change in their family’s environment—for instance, imagining a move to a neighborhood featuring different menus of amenities and other pecuniary benefits, such as higher/lower crime and higher/lower school quality. We foresee a separate wave where we propose hypothetical scenarios (including prior and posterior questions) on other items such as the risks of children’s social media use. A control group receives information unrelated to parenting. After the treatment, respondents are asked the same set of parenting questions again. This design enables us to causally identify how parents adjust their reported parenting choices in response to different environmental or informational "shocks."
By comparing responses across treatment and control groups and within individuals pre- and post-treatment, we can estimate how parenting behaviors shift in response to specific changes in perceived constraints or opportunities. These insights will inform both reduced-form analyses—leveraging the randomized assignment to identify treatment effects—and the estimation of structural models of parental decision-making. This dual approach allows us to investigate both behavioral responses and underlying preferences, with broader implications for understanding intergenerational mobility, social inclusion, and the formation of human capital.
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After
Measuring parenting styles and investments is inherently challenging, given their multidimensional and often unobservable nature. To address this, our survey combines questions on parenting behaviors and styles from multiple validated sources, including the World Values Survey, Add Health, and other established parenting questionnaires. These instruments are supplemented with additional items specifically tailored to capture key aspects of parenting decisions, such as educational investments, involvement in children’s peer relationships, residential preferences, and broader household dynamics. This integrated approach allows for a richer and more comprehensive characterization of family decision-making.
Since preferences and expectations—especially those related to major life choices and parenting strategies—are difficult to identify from observational data due to selection effects, the second part of the study incorporates an experimental component based on randomized hypothetical scenarios. Respondents are first asked a set of questions about their parenting behaviors and attitudes. They are then randomly assigned to a hypothetical scenario/vignette (treatment) designed to simulate a change in their family’s environment—for instance, imagining that the neighborhood where they live experiences higher or lower crime, or an increase in school quality. We also propose hypothetical scenarios aimed at capturing behavior related with children’s social media use (e.g., social media distancing). A control group receives information unrelated to parenting. After the treatment, respondents are asked the same set of parenting questions again. This design enables us to causally identify how parents adjust their reported parenting choices in response to different environmental or informational "shocks."
By comparing responses across treatment and control groups and within individuals pre- and post-treatment, we can estimate how parenting behaviors shift in response to specific changes in perceived constraints or opportunities. These insights will inform both reduced-form analyses—leveraging the randomized assignment to identify treatment effects—and the estimation of structural models of parental decision-making. This dual approach allows us to investigate both behavioral responses and underlying preferences, with broader implications for understanding intergenerational mobility, social inclusion, and the formation of human capital.
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Did you obtain IRB approval for this study?
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No
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Yes
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