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Chapter 7

Authoritative parents tend to realize there
is no one“right”way to raise a child,
especially in our ever-changing society.
Childrenraisedinanauthoritativehome
becomegoodproblem-solversandhavea
goodunderstandingof cooperation.They
generallyshowmoreinitiativeandsocial
responsibilitythanchildrenraisedwith
otherparentingstyles.Researchshowsthat
adolescentswhoseparentsareauthoritative
ratethemselves—andareratedbyobjective
measures—asmoresociallycompetentand
ashavinglessproblematicbehaviorthan
non-authoritativeparents(Baumrind,1991;
Lamborn,Mounts,Steinberg,&
Dornbusch,1991;Steinberg,Darling,&
Fletcher,1995).

Authoritarian

Ingeneral,parentswhousethe

authoritarianparentingstyleare

demanding,directiveparents,butarenot

responsivetothechild.“Theyareobedience-

andstatus-oriented,andexpecttheirorders

tobecarriedoutwithoutexplanation”

(Baumrind1991,62).Anauthoritarian

parentismoreconcernedwithmakingthe

childlistentotheparent’sideasthanin

listeningtotheneedsandideasofthechild.

Authoritarianparentsprovideachildwith

strictrulesandastructured,well-ordered

homeenvironment.Thisparentingstylehas

beenpopularinsocietieswhichstickcloseto

traditions,withlittlechangeoverthe

generations.Childrenrearedin

authoritarianhomesoftenhavedifficulty

makingtheirowndecisionswhentheyreach

adulthood,sincetheyfrequentlydon’tlearn

decision-makingskillsaschildrenand

adolescents.

Authoritative parents are demanding but not

intrusive and use discipline in a caring, loving

way rather then a harsh, penalizing way.

Authoritarian parents are demanding, directive parents who

are more concerned with getting the child to listen to

them than to hear the ideas of the child.

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