Authoritative Parenting Characteristics and Effects

      Authoritative Parenting and its                                 Characteristics 

The authoritarian parenting style is about being strict and stern. It insists on unquestioning obedience and enforces good behavior through psychological control — threats, shaming, and other punishments. As defined by psychologists, it’s also a style associated with relatively little parental warmth and responsiveness (Baumrind 1991). There are a lot of characteristics of the authoritative parenting style, which are discussed below along with causes and effects.

 Authoritarian parenting is a parenting style characterized by high demands and low responsiveness. It was one of the parenting styles described by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind. In addition to authoritarian parenting, she also identified two other styles known as authoritative parenting and permissive parenting.

 

permissive parenting, in which parents are emotionally warm but reluctant to enforce rules or standards of conduct; and

authoritative parenting, in which parents set limits and enforce standards, but also show high levels of warmth and responsiveness.

 

Characteristics and Examples:

 

Baumrind believed that one of the major roles that parents play in a child's life is to socialize them to the values and expectations of their culture. How parents accomplish this, however, can vary dramatically based on the amount of control they attempt to exert over their children.

The authoritarian approach represents the most controlling style. Rather than valuing self-control and teaching children to manage their own behaviors, the authoritarian parent focuses on adherence to authority. Instead of rewarding positive behavior, the authoritarian parent only provides feedback in the form of punishments for misbehavior.

 

• Demanding, But Not Responsive
•  Little Warmth or Nurturing
• Little Explanation for Punishments
• Few Choices for Children
•  Impatient With Misbehavior
•  Shaming
• Qualities of an Authoritarian Parent

 

Authoritarian parenting is a “because I said so” type of parenting. “Parents relying on authoritarian strategies discourage children’s questions about the parent’s expectations and decisions,” says Dr. Goodwin. “They expect children to obey rules and display appropriate behavior without question, at all times.”

 

In many cases, authoritarian parents are not interested in a child who has their own thoughts or opinions. Decisions are usually made for the child by the parent, and input from the child is not considered. “Authoritarian parents can be cold and see the child’s emotions (such as sadness, fear, or anger) as unacceptable and may ignore or punish expressions of distress,” Dr. Henin describes.

 Causes:

Authoritarian parenting is often not something that parents engage in intentionally. Some factors that may contribute to the use of an authoritarian style include:

Authority Upbrgingin: People who parent this way were often raised by authoritarian parents or in an authoritarian culture. One study, for example, found that parents exposed to authoritarian parenting as children were more like to raise their own kids with similar patterns and attitudes.

Less agreeableness: Research also suggests that authoritarian parents tend to score lower on the personality trait known as agreeableness.4 Less agreeable people tend to be less empathetic and more hostile. They also have more difficult relationships in general, including with their own children.

 

More neuroticism: Studies also show that authoritarian parents also tend to score higher on measures of neuroticism.5 Neuroticism is a personality dimension that involves emotional stability and is marked by a tendency to experience anxiety, doubt, depression, and other negative feelings.

Parenting styles have been associated with a variety of child outcomes in areas like social skills and academic performance. The children of authoritarian parents may:

Effect On children 

• Act fearful or overly shy around others
• Associate obedience and success with love
• Conform easily, yet also experience depression and anxiety
• Display more aggressive behavior toward others6
• Display fewer prosocial behaviors7
• Have difficulty in social situations due to a lack of social competence
• Have lower self-esteem
• Have more negative symptoms such as hyperactivity and conduct problems7
• Struggle with self-control because they are rarely able to make choices and experience natural consequences

Summary

Authoritarian parenting is characterized by very high expectations for children with a lack of feedback and responsiveness from the parent. Authoritarian parents punish mistakes harshly but offer little explanation for their rules and punishments. This parenting style is connected to a number of negative outcomes for children including lower self-esteem, social difficulties, and poor self-control, but there are strategies for adopting a more positive parenting style.