Parenting Style and Its Correlates
Developmental psychologists have been interested in how parents
influence the development of children's social and instrumental competence
since at least the 1920s. One of the most robust approaches to this area is
the study of what has been called "parenting style." This Digest defines parenting
style, explores four types, and discusses the consequences of the different
styles for children.
PARENTING STYLE DEFINED
Parenting is a complex activity that includes many specific
behaviors that work individually and together to influence child outcomes.
Although specific parenting behaviors, such as spanking or reading aloud, may
influence child development, looking at any specific behavior in isolation
may be misleading. Many writers have noted that specific parenting practices
are less important in predicting child well-being than is the broad pattern
of parenting. Most researchers who attempt to describe this broad parental
milieu rely on Diana Baumrind's concept of parenting style. The construct of
parenting style is used to capture normal variations in parents' attempts to
control and socialize their children (Baumrind, 1991). Two points are critical
in understanding this definition. First, parenting style is meant to describe
normal variations in parenting. In other words, the parenting style typology
Baumrind developed should not be understood to include deviant parenting, such
as might be observed in abusive or neglectful homes. Second, Baumrind assumes
that normal parenting revolves around issues of control. Although parents may
differ in how they try to control or socialize their children and the extent
to which they do so, it is assumed that the primary role of all parents is
to influence, teach, and control their children.
Parenting style captures two important elements of parenting:
parental responsiveness and parental demandingness (Maccoby & Martin, 1983).
Parental responsiveness (also referred to as parental warmth or supportiveness)
refers to "the extent to which parents intentionally foster individuality,
self-regulation, and self-assertion by being attuned, supportive, and acquiescent
to children's special needs and demands" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Parental
demandingness (also referred to as behavioral control) refers to "the claims
parents make on children to become integrated into the family whole, by their
maturity demands, supervision, disciplinary efforts and willingness to confront
the child who disobeys" (Baumrind, 1991, pp. 61- 62).
FOUR PARENTING STYLES
Categorizing parents according to whether they are high or
low on parental demandingness and responsiveness creates a typology of four
parenting styles: indulgent, authoritarian, authoritative, and uninvolved (Maccoby & Martin,
1983). Each of these parenting styles reflects different naturally occurring
patterns of parental values, practices, and behaviors (Baumrind, 1991) and
a distinct balance of responsiveness and demandingness.
- Indulgent parents (also referred to as "permissive" or "nondirective") "are
more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient,
do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid
confrontation" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). Indulgent parents may be further
divided into two types: democratic parents, who, though lenient, are more
conscientious, engaged, and committed to the child, and nondirective parents.
- Authoritarian parents are highly demanding and directive, but
not responsive. "They are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their
orders to be obeyed without explanation" (Baumrind, 1991, p. 62). These parents
provide well-ordered and structured environments with clearly stated rules.
Authoritarian parents can be divided into two types: nonauthoritarian-directive,
who are directive, but not intrusive or autocratic in their use of power, and
authoritarian-directive, who are highly intrusive.
- Authoritative parents are both demanding and responsive. "They
monitor and impart clear standards for their children's conduct. They are assertive,
but not intrusive and restrictive. Their disciplinary methods are supportive,
rather than punitive. They want their children to be assertive as well as socially
responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative" (Baumrind, 1991, p.
62).
- Uninvolved parents are low in both responsiveness and demandingness.
In extreme cases, this parenting style might encompass both rejecting-neglecting
and neglectful parents, although most parents of this type fall within the
normal range. Because parenting style is a typology, rather than a linear combination
of responsiveness and demandingness, each parenting style is more than and
different from the sum of its parts (Baumrind, 1991).
In addition to differing on responsiveness and demandingness,
the parenting styles also differ in the extent to which they are characterized
by a third dimension: psychological control. Psychological control "refers
to control attempts that intrude into the psychological and emotional development
of the child" (Barber, 1996, p. 3296) through use of parenting practices such
as guilt induction, withdrawal of love, or shaming. One key difference between
authoritarian and authoritative parenting is in the dimension of psychological
control. Both authoritarian and authoritative parents place high demands on
their children and expect their children to behave appropriately and obey parental
rules. Authoritarian parents, however, also expect their children to accept
their judgments, values, and goals without questioning. In contrast, authoritative
parents are more open to give and take with their children and make greater
use of explanations. Thus, although authoritative and authoritarian parents
are equally high in behavioral control, authoritative parents tend to be low
in psychological control, while authoritarian parents tend to be high.
CONSEQUENCES FOR CHILDREN
Parenting style has been found to predict child well-being
in the domains of social competence, academic performance, psychosocial development,
and problem behavior. Research based on parent interviews, child reports, and
parent observations consistently finds:
- Children and adolescents whose parents are authoritative rate
themselves and are rated by objective measures as more socially and instrumentally
competent than those whose parents are nonauthoritative (Baumrind, 1991;
Weiss & Schwarz,
1996; Miller et al., 1993).
- Children and adolescents whose parents are uninvolved perform
most poorly in all domains.
- In general, parental responsiveness predicts social competence
and psychosocial functioning, while parental demandingness is associated with
instrumental competence and behavioral control (i.e., academic performance
and deviance). These findings indicate:
Children and adolescents from authoritarian families (high
in demandingness, but low in responsiveness) tend to perform moderately
well in school and be uninvolved in problem behavior, but they have poorer
social skills, lower self-esteem, and higher levels of depression.
Children and adolescents from indulgent homes (high in responsiveness,
low in demandingness) are more likely to be involved in problem behavior
and perform less well in school, but they have higher self-esteem, better
social skills, and lower levels of depression.
In reviewing the literature on parenting style, one is struck
by the consistency with which authoritative upbringing is associated with both
instrumental and social competence and lower levels of problem behavior in
both boys and girls at all developmental stages. The benefits of authoritative
parenting and the detrimental effects of uninvolved parenting are evident as
early as the preschool years and continue throughout adolescence and into early
adulthood. Although specific differences can be found in the competence evidenced
by each group, the largest differences are found between children whose parents
are unengaged and their peers with more involved parents. Differences between
children from authoritative homes and their peers are equally consistent, but
somewhat smaller (Weiss & Schwarz, 1996). Just as authoritative parents
appear to be able to balance their conformity demands with their respect for
their children's individuality, so children from authoritative homes appear
to be able to balance the claims of external conformity and achievement demands
with their need for individuation and autonomy.
INFLUENCE OF SEX, ETHNICITY, OR FAMILY TYPE
It is important to distinguish between differences in the distribution
and the correlates of parenting style in different subpopulations. Although
in the United States authoritative parenting is most common among intact, middle-
class families of European descent, the relationship between authoritativeness
and child outcomes is quite similar across groups. There are some exceptions
to this general statement, however: (1) demandingness appears to be less critical
to girls' than to boys' well-being (Weiss & Schwarz, 1996), and (2) authoritative
parenting predicts psychosocial outcomes and problem behaviors for adolescents
in all ethnic groups studied (African-, Asian-, European-, and Hispanic Americans),
but it is associated with academic performance only among European Americans
and, to a lesser extent, Hispanic Americans (Steinberg, Dornbusch, & Brown,
1992; Steinberg, Darling, & Fletcher, 1995). Chao (1994) and others (Darling & Steinberg,
1993) have argued that observed ethnic differences in the association of parenting
style with child outcomes may be due to differences in social context, parenting
practices, or the cultural meaning of specific dimensions of parenting style.
CONCLUSION
Parenting style provides a robust indicator of parenting functioning
that predicts child well-being across a wide spectrum of environments and
across diverse communities of children. Both parental responsiveness and
parental demandingness are important components of good parenting. Authoritative
parenting, which balances clear, high parental demands with emotional responsiveness
and recognition of child autonomy, is one of the most consistent family predictors
of competence from early childhood through adolescence. However, despite
the long and robust tradition of research into parenting style, a number
of issues remain outstanding. Foremost among these are issues of definition,
developmental change in the manifestation and correlates of parenting styles,
and the processes underlying the benefits of authoritative parenting (see
Schwarz et al., 1985; Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Baumrind, 1991; and
Barber, 1996).
References and More Information
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