Does Authoritative Parenting Style Impact Your Child’s Personality?

Dr Bassam Ghanem: General Pediatrician (Children & Adolescent Doctor), Secours Populaire Libanais Hospital, Nabatiyeh-Lebanon 

Where Did I go wrong? How can I help my child build confidence and a healthy personality? These are some of the questions that all parents have when it comes to raising their child. In depth research on child development has shown correlation between parenting styles and the psychological well-being of their children.

Parenting style commonly refers to the practices adopted by parents during their children’s growth and socialization stages and to the measures that are used to control the children. These practices play a critical role in the psychopathology and development of children. “Parenting style” also encompasses family functions and the shaping of a child’s behavior by parents and other primary caregivers, as well as the common behavioral patterns seen in the parent’s interactions with the child in a wide range of circumstances. According to Baumrind’s classification, every family adopts one of many parenting styles for personal and social education of their children. Namely authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive.

In reference to studies, being exposed to more authoritative parenting during elementary school is strongly correlated with higher levels of life satisfaction during the period of youth. So, what is authoritative parenting, and who can be described as authoritative parents? The answer lies in a combination of both the supporting nature of the parent and also the demanding one. It has appeared to be an effective means of socialization in establishing social roles and values for the individual. Authoritative parents have control, intimacy and responsiveness towards their children.

According to a study, authoritative parents (based on the reports of both the parent and child) created a positive direct effect on the child’s point of view, which in turn sustained a positive effect on the child’s self-esteem. Authoritative parenting as often been observed to offer support and demand to socialize the child, possibly in terms of the performance when it comes to taking other people’s perspectives into consideration and fostering self-esteem. Both of which are vital concerns of socialization and its research. Socialization refers to a process that makes its receiver adjusted to society, by understanding and affirming oneself and others. The results of another recent study done in 2017 shows that authoritative the parenting style was a significant predictor of children’s self-esteem, which suggests that children of parents with authoritative parenting styles have significantly higher self-esteem.

Why is self-esteem in the developing child a key factor highlighted in the psychological studies concerned with child-rearing? Because self-esteem, or a sense of self-worth, refers to the satisfaction with oneself. In other words, it is an individual’s perspective of him/herself in terms of physical and psychological aspects. Self-esteem is the judgement of one’s admiration, manifesting in the person’s attitudes towards oneself. Several factors are involved in the formation and development of self-esteem, but the attitudes of parents and their parenting styles are regarded as the main ones. It is important to note that the role of intra-family communication and the relationship between the two parents, parents and children, and between children is considerable in the formation of personality, peace of mind, confidence, and ultimately the development of appropriate behavior that lowers the risk of mental disorders.

In summary, the parenting style practiced by the mother and father is of primary importance. Family and home are the two things a child’s development depends on, and they are the two factors molding the child’s personality. According to all the scientific data presented above that is in reference to reputable psychological and psychiatric journals, the authoritative parenting style has been shown to be the most positively influencing parenting style. It creates a healthy child personality, builds confidence, self-esteem, and resilience.

Aptamil is not the author of this article, as it has been written by Dr Bassam Ghanem who is the owner of the content

References:

1. Lavric M, Naterer A. The power of authoritative parenting: A cross-national study of effects of exposure to different parenting styles on life satisfaction. Children and Youth Services Review; 2020; 116.
2. Firouzkouhi MM, Validad A, Rakhshani T, et al. Child self-esteem and different parenting styles of mothers: a cross-sectional study. Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2017; 1: 37–42.
3. Yeung JWK, Cheung C, Kwok SYCL, et al., Socialization Effects of Authoritative Parenting and Its Discrepancy on Children. J Child Fam Stud. 2016; 25:1980–1990.
4. Gray MR, Steinberg L. Unpacking Authoritative Parenting: Reassessing a Multidimensional Construct. Journal of Marriage and Family;1999; 61(3): 574-587.