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Abstract
The present study takes a developmental approach to predicting the amount of affectionate communication fathers give their own sons by examining the amount of affection men received from their own fathers. Two developmental orientations are addressed: the modeling hypothesis, which predicts that positive behavior patterns exhibited by parents will be replicated in their children's own parenting, and the compensation hypothesis, which predicts that negative parenting behaviors are compensated for in children's parenting of their own children. We combined these approaches to advance a hybrid prediction that, when applied to affectionate communication, calls for a curvilinear relationship between the affection men received from their own fathers and the affection they give their own sons. Five hundred six men who were fathers of at least one son participated in the current study, and the results provided direct support for a combined modeling‐compensation hypothesis.
