PARENTING BEHAVIORS - A CONTENT-ANALYSIS OF SITUATIONAL COMEDIES BASED ON TV FICTIONAL FAMILIES

This study focused on parenting behaviors portrayed by characters on 1 5 series of situational comedies based on fictional families on televi sion. Three series identified by Zoglin in 1990 as antifamily shows we re included in the controversial category, and the other 12 series wer e identified as noncontroversial. Trained coders labeled parenting beh avior in 5 episodes of each series as beneficial or detrimental accord ing to theories of development. Consequences associated with parent-ch aracters' behaviors and rated as reinforcing or punishing indicated th at both controversial and noncontroversial series contained detrimenta l parenting behaviors and inappropriate combinations of behaviors and consequences with controversial series being higher on both measures. The influence of televised portrayals of detrimental parenting on real -life interactions between parent and child is discussed from the pers pective of social cognitive theory.