Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 2009 The Relationship Between Parental Influence and Christian Spiritual Practices Among Adventist youth in Puerto Rico Obed Jiménez Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Christianity Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Jiménez, Obed, "The Relationship Between Parental Influence and Christian Spiritual Practices Among Adventist youth in Puerto Rico" (2009). Dissertations. 469. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/469 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. Please honor the copyright of this document by not duplicating or distributing additional copies in any form without the author‟s express written permission. Thanks for your cooperation. ABSTRACT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL INFLUENCE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AMONG ADVENTIST YOUTH IN PUERTO RICO by Obed Jiménez Chair: O. Jane Thayer ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University School of Education Title: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL INFLUENCE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AMONG ADVENTIST YOUTH IN PUERTO RICO Name of researcher: Obed Jiménez Name and degree of faculty chair: O. Jane Thayer, Ph.D. Date completed: November 2009 Problem Typically, parents do not realize how influential they are in fostering spiritual growth in their children and are not aware of key influential factors that can motivate their children in practicing spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible reading, meditation, and church attendance. Method This study used data from the Avance PR study conducted during the months of March and October 1995. The population for this study was high-school students enrolled in Seventh-day Adventist academies and youth who attended Seventh-day Adventist churches in Puerto Rico. The youth sample (ages 13-25) consisted of 1,377 single, never-married subjects: 586 males and 775 females. A total of 27 independent variables, 2 dependent variables, and 2 control variables were analyzed. The independent variables were parental influence factors that included parental marital status, income level, education, attitudes, behaviors, and religious practices. The dependent variables were devotional practices and church attendance practices. The control variables were age and gender. These variables were tested using ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression. Results Twenty-seven parental influence variables were tested to examine their relationship with youth devotional practices and church attendance. When tested individually and when tested individually after controlling for age and gender, 17 variables showed a significant relationship with devotional practices and 19 variables showed a significant relationship with church attendance. Significant differences on devotional practices and church attendance were found between adolescents and young adults, and between males and females, when tested individually after controlling for age and gender. When tested together and when tested together after controlling for age and gender, 4 variables showed a significant relationship with devotional practices and 4 variables showed a significant relationship with church attendance. Three variables met the criteria for a good prediction model and were significantly related to devotional practices in all tests: family Adventist standards, family worship quantity, and parental authoritarianism. Four variables met the criteria for a good prediction model and were significantly related to church attendance in all tests: family Adventist standards, parental role model, mother SDA, and both parents SDA. Both models predicted more than 20% of the variance of devotional and church attendance practices. Conclusions The relationships found in this study suggest that parents have a strong influence on the devotional and church attendance practices of their children. A few of these relationships varied depending on the age and gender of the child. The model predicting devotional practices showed that parents are more likely to increase devotional practices of their children when they (a) enforce Adventist lifestyle standards, (b) expose their children to frequent family worship, (c) and do not exert an authoritarian parental style toward their children. The model predicting church attendance showed that parents are more likely to increase church attendance practices of their children when they (a) enforce Adventist lifestyle standards, (b) are good role models of the Christian life, (c) mother is Adventist, and (d) both parents are Adventists. Andrews University School of Education THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL INFLUENCE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AMONG ADVENTIST YOUTH IN PUERTO RICO A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Obed Jiménez November 2009 © Copyright by Obed Jiménez 2009 All Rights Reserved THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTAL INFLUENCE AND CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL PRACTICES AMONG ADVENTIST YOUTH IN PUERTO RICO A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy by Obed Jiménez APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: ___________________________________ ______________________________ Chair: O. Jane Thayer Dean, School of Education James R. Jeffery ___________________________________ Member: Jerome D. Thayer ___________________________________ Member: Edwin I. Hernández ___________________________________ ______________________________ External: J. Roberto Reyes Date approved Dedicated to: my wife Marcia, my daughter Kimberly, and my son Bryan. To God who gave me the wisdom and the strength to complete this journey. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ ix Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1 Background ........................................................................................ 2 Statement of the Problem .................................................................. 8 Purpose of the Study ......................................................................... 8 Significance of the Study .................................................................. 8 Conceptual Framework ..................................................................... 11 Research Questions ........................................................................... 13 Definitions of Terms ......................................................................... 14 Delimitation ...................................................................................... 16 Limitations ........................................................................................ 16 Organization of the Study ................................................................. 17 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................ 18 Spirituality ......................................................................................... 18 Christian Spiritual Formation ....................................................... 21 Spiritual Disciplines .................................................................. 27 Prayer ..................................................................................... 31 Bible study ............................................................................. 32 Meditation .............................................................................. 32 Church attendance .................................................................. 33 Youth Culture .................................................................................... 35 Youth Religiosity .............................................................................. 41 Youth Spiritual Practices .............................................................. 46 Youth Prayer ............................................................................. 47 Youth Bible Study ..................................................................... 51 Youth Meditation ...................................................................... 54 Youth Church Attendance ......................................................... 54 Parental Influence ............................................................................. 57 Parental Status ............................................................................... 59 iv Family Climate .............................................................................. 61 Family Worship ............................................................................ 64 Parental Role Model ..................................................................... 67 Parental Understanding ................................................................. 69 Parental Authoritarianism