Authoritarian Parenting Style

Authoritarian Parenting Style

The parenting styles can be seen varying along two orthogonal dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness.Authoritarian parents who are demanding but not responsive would treat both moral and conventional issues as more obligatory than would other parents.According to Baumrind, these parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, an expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation."

Authoritarian parents usually don't give their children choices or options .They want the children to obey them blindly. They seldom express their love and care for the children , though they have it .The failure to follow the strict rules of parents will often result in punishment ,for which they won't give a proper explaination.Authoritarian parents are both more restrictive in granting adolescents jurisdiction over multifaceted issues and more likely to moralize conventional issues.

Charecteristics of children brought up by authoritarian parents

Authoritarian parenting style generally leades children who are obediant and proficient in accademics and job field.But they rank lower in happiness, social competence and self-esteem.These children will be well diciplined and they will refrain from usage of drugs, alcohol etc.They would find it very difficult to adapt in social interactions and make friends. It becomes difficult for them to be popular among their peers and society.

The children trained by authoritarian parents are emotionally more sensitive and situations often puts them in anxiety and low self-esteem.This parenting style can affect the psychosocial development of a child.It makes some children more agressive outside home.Other children may act shy and fearful in social situations .These children are not encouraged to explore and find independently. They lack autonomy in their identity.In addition, although they may remain compliant, they can develop an overall mistrust of authority. They are taught to follow rules rather than take initiative, they are more capable of following instructions than becoming leaders. They are taught what to think rather than how to think. As a result, these children remain dependent emotionally into adulthood, sometimes even living in the parental home long after what would be considered emotionally healthy. This lack of independence, both emotional and physical, can result in low self-esteem. children growing up in authoritarian control slowly come to belive that they are unable to control themselves.This “learned helplessness” is a major component in the development of depression.

The authoritarianism in parents can be because of their misunderstandings, cultural backgrounds, or other circumstances.As far as possible, the rules in each home needs to

be consistent. Parents need to talk to each other about parental issues and try to provide a better atmosphere for the child.

References and bibliography

www.jstor.org

http://psychology.about.com/od/childcare/f/authoritarian-parenting.htm

Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use. Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56-95