The relationship of reaction to transgression of adolescents and reaction to transgression in their families when they were age 5 was investigated. The Ss are part of a follow-up study (7 years later) on patterns of child rearing (Sears et al., 1957). Imitation of attitudes towards transgression was strongest in Ss whose families were highly nurturant. Sex differences in modes of acquiring rule-enforcing attitudes were found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)