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Figure 6.11Parenting Styles
Parenting styles can be divided into four types, based on the combination of demandingness and responsiveness.
The authoritative style, characterized by both responsiveness and also demandingness, is the most effective.
Many studies of children and their parents, using different methods, measures, and samples, have reached the same
conclusion—namely, that authoritative parenting, in comparison to the other three styles, is associated with a wide
range of psychological and social advantages for children. Parents who use the authoritative style, with its
combination of demands on the children as well as responsiveness to the children’s needs, have kids who have better
psychological adjustment, school performance, and psychosocial maturity, compared with parents who use the other
styles (Baumrind, 1996; Grolnick & Ryan, 1989). [5] On the other hand, there are at least some cultural differences in
the effectiveness of different parenting styles. Although the reasons for the differences are not completely understood,
strict authoritarian parenting styles seem to work better in African American families than in European American