Authoritative parenting

Authoritative parenting is a term used to describe a parenting style in which parents use reason to set firm expectations of their child while offering positive support and guidance. The concept was originated in the 1960s by psychologist Diana Baumrind, who contrasted it against two other parenting styles she labeled authoritarian and permissive. These categories proved popular and influential over the following decades, with many child development experts hailing authoritative parenting as the most effective way to help children develop self-control and self-confidence. In the twenty-first century, researchers have tended to move away from simple, global style categories in the study of parenting, instead focusing on how parents can adapt their practices to every unique situation. Nevertheless, the concept of authoritative parenting remains prominent in developmental psychology.

Background

Much of the early theory around authoritative parenting came in the 1960s from the work of Diana Baumrind, a clinical and development psychologist who examined relationships between preschoolers and their parents. The parenting styles introduced in the Baumrind parenting typology became widely accepted by psychologists, parents, and educators. The categories of authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting were derived through close examination of the levels of responsiveness/unresponsiveness and demanding/undemanding behaviors that occur within the parent-child relationship. Since authoritarian parents were considered too strict and permissive parents were labeled as too lenient, authoritative parenting became the standard for the goal of producing well-adjusted children.

In 1983, psychologists Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin used the Baumrind parenting typology to provide further explanations for parents who differed greatly despite being similarly classified by the Baumrind typology. For instance, one parent might be labeled permissive because they were indulgent while another was described as permissive because of indifference. Maccoby and Martin expanded the parenting typology to four categories: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive-indulgent, and permissive-neglectful. The indulgent parent is responsive but makes few demands, while the neglectful or indifferent parent makes few demands and is rarely responsive. Similarly, Baumrind later included the categories of disengaged, directive, good enough, and democratic to account for parenting styles that did not fall completely within her initial categories.

The categories outlined by Baumrind or Maccoby and Martin focused on acceptable or normal parenting behavior. Any drastic departures, such as abuse, would not be evaluated through the same lens. While parents may usually be relatively consistent in their parenting styles, a parent experiencing high levels of stress may become inconsistent. For example, negative experiences such as divorce, the death or illness of a family member, poverty, or military mobilization of a spouse may cause parents to become less mindful, at least temporarily, of the needs of their children.

Overview

Some studies have suggested that authoritative parenting appears to produce positive outcomes across various demographics, such as racial groups in the United States. Proponents suggest that authoritative parenting allows parents to maintain close relationships with their children without ceding control of the relationship. esearchers have found that teens brought up by authoritative parents are more likely than others to be well-adjusted, have pride in their families, exhibit greater creativity, and anticipate personal fulfillment and positive relationship formation. In contrast, the less-well-adjusted children are often the product of authoritarian parents. Children raised by permissive or authoritarian parents may be more sensitive to anxiety and depression than those raised in authoritative households.

By the twenty-first century, psychologists and other child development experts generally accepted authoritative parenting as the optimal parenting style because it keeps the focus on the child. While authoritative parents have high expectations for their children, they are willing to provide the support needed to meet those expectations. In Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life (2011), sociologist Annette Lareau identifies the concept of concerted cultivation. This she uses to describe the most common parenting style practiced by middle- and upper-middle-class parents, who are highly involved in their children’s lives and who work hard to encourage the ability of children to develop social skills that give them advantages in school and the workplace. Authoritative parents are more likely to practice concerted cultivation rather than the natural growth style often practiced by poor and working-class parents, which is more spontaneous and less defined. While Lareau argues that children brought up according to concerted cultivation develop the skills needed to perform the expected functions of middle-class adults, they may lack the independence found among children raised using the natural growth parenting style.

Since, in authoritative parenting, the focus remains on the child, the relationship between parent and child tends to be an open one. While authoritative parents demand accountability for a child’s actions, their demands are not unreasonable. In the authoritative home, both parent and child have assigned roles with which they clearly identify. Children of authoritative parents have much more freedom to question and discuss than those in authoritarian homes. While the child of authoritative parents is encouraged to develop a degree of independence that is age appropriate, they are always conscious that the parent is nearby to offer help when needed.

Discipline tends to be firm and consistent among authoritative parents. Punishment, which is rarely verbal, physical, psychological, or arbitrary, may be avoided when a parent feels that discussing a child’s misbehavior is more important than punishing the child. One of the major benefits of authoritative parenting is the ability of parents to act as positive role models, preparing their child for developing age-appropriate behaviors and responsibilities.

Unlike the authoritarian parent, the authoritative parent offers guidance rather than control. While the authoritative parent adheres to a certain standard, they deal with the behavior of the child within the context of particular situations. Whereas the authoritarian parent may view a child’s behavior only as selfish and needing correction, the authoritative parent recognizes the child’s individuality and the right to independent expression.

Criticism

Despite the popularity of the authoritative parenting as an ideal parenting style, the typology developed by Baumrind has been widely critiqued. Other researchers have often suggested that the categories, even in their expanded form, are too broad and simplistic. Many have also argued that the conception of authoritative parenting, in particular, is unrealistic or otherwise problematic. Critics have questioned the validity of studies purporting to show the effectiveness of authoritative parenting, especially based on evolving understanding of the dynamics of power and control. Due to such criticisms, as well as insights from further research on parenting, by the 2010s many developmental psychologists had begun to shift away from a focus on generalized parenting styles and toward a more complex understanding of flexible parenting practices adapted to unique families, children, and situations.

Bibliography

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