4PAHPDEV Psychology and Development Week 9
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
PARENTING AND THE FAMILY
UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT TYPES OF/APPROACHES TO PARENTING
PARENTING BEHAVIOUR
Dimensions of Parenting
• There are 7 dimensions regarding parenting
o Nurturance: Showing warmth, responding needs, changing emotions
o Discipline: Explaining and providing appropriate punishment
o Teaching: Asking teaching questions
o Language: Age appropriateness and frequency
o Materials: What materials are provided to support child’s play
o Monitoring: Awareness of where the child is and what he or she is doing
o Managing: Routines, planning for the future
• Parents often rely on learning principles such as reinforcement to praise and discipline their
children and modelling behaviours they want them to adopt
• They manage aspects of their children’s environment that influence their social development
o For example, decorating their rooms, providing specific toys and books, and
arranging activities and social events (Ladd & Pettit, 2002; Parke & Buriel, 2006)
• Parenting patterns and styles tend to reflect two dimensions of behaviour: emotionality and
control
Nurturance/Emotionality
• Parents may be warm, responsive and child-centred in their approach, or rejecting,
unresponsive, and uninvolved with their children
• Emotionality is crucial to the socialisation process
o When a parent is warm and loving, the child is likely to want to maintain approval and
get distressed at the prospect of losing their love (Baumrind, 1991; Grusec & Davidov,
2007)
o If they are cold and rejecting, the threat of withdrawal of love is unlikely to be an
effective mechanism of socialisation
Discipline/Control
• Parents may be demanding and restricting of their children, or permissive and undemanding,
allowing them to do as they wish
• Successful socialisation enables a child to control their own behaviour and make
responsible choices and decisions
• Behavioural control involve es setting reasonable rules and parental use of suggestions,
reasoning and possible alternative courses of actions
o Moderate levels of control lead children to be more likely to cooperate and adopt or
internalise their parents’ standards (Barber & Harmon, 2002; Holden & Hawk, 2003)
• Psychological control involves the use of emotion-directed tactics (e.g. guilt or shame,
withdrawal of love, or ignoring/discounting one’s feelings)
o This can lead to lower self-esteem, anxiety and depression (Barber & Harmon, 2002)
1
,4PAHPDEV Psychology and Development Week 9
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
Monitoring
• In infants, lack of parental involvement is associated with disruptions in attachment
(Thompson, 2006)
• Among preschool-age, poor monitoring, combined with coercive discipline predicts conduct
problems in African American boys and girls at age 6 (Kilgore et al., 2000)
• In older children, it is associated with impulsivity, aggression, non-compliance, moodiness,
and low self-esteem (Baumrind, 1991)
• Children of uninvolved parents tend to be socially incompetent, irresponsible, immature,
and alienated from their families (Baumrind, 1991; Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002)
o They also show disruptions in cognitive development, achievement and school
performance
Adaptability
• Adaptability is the central criterion of a well-functioning family
• When family members are unbending in the face of parental dissension or family distress
over an aggressive child, routines can solidify and intensify negative patterns of interaction
(Katz & Gottman, 1997; Dishion & Bullock, 2002)
• Resistance to change can prevent parents or others from recognising problems, causing
members to blame all family difficulties on one child, who becomes the target for everyone
Boundaries
• A well-functioning family tends to have permeable boundaries that allow members to
maintain satisfying relationships both within and outside the family itself (Kerig, 2008)
• If families are too rigidly bounded, members may have difficulty disengaging appropriately
from the family
o These families may have few positive community contacts and social supports and
may be more likely than others to perceive their children negatively and be punitive
and inconsistent with them (Wahler & Duman, 1987)
• Families whose boundaries are too permeable can be vulnerable to disruptions by external
forces
PARENTING STYLES
• Baumrind (1967, 1973) identified three parenting styles based on parental interviews and
observations of parents interacting with their children
o Maccoby and Martin (1983) added a fourth style, ‘uninvolved’ (neglecting-rejecting)
o These were based on four dimensions of parenting: control, nurturance, clarity of
control, and maturity demands
Emotionality
High Warmth: Low Warmth:
Control
Warm, Responsive Rejecting, Unresponsive
High Control:
Authoritative Authoritarian
Restrictive, Demanding
Low Control:
Permissive Neglectful/Uninvolved
Permissive, Undemanding
2
, 4PAHPDEV Psychology and Development Week 9
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
Authoritative Parenting
• Includes warmth and moderate restrictiveness, with the parents expecting appropriately
mature behaviour from their children, setting reasonable limits, but also being responsive
and attentive to their children’s needs
o Positive feedback is often given instead of punishment
• Baumrind found that this correlated with the behaviour of energetic-friendly children, who
exhibited positive emotional, social, and cognitive development
o Associated with the child’s development of self-esteem, adaptability, competence,
internalised control, popularity with peers, and low levels of antisocial behaviour
Parenting Style Children’s Characteristics
Authoritative Parent Energetic-Friendly Child
• Warm, involved, responsive • Cheerful and competent
• Shows pleasure and support of child’s • Self-controlled and self-reliant
constructive behaviour • Purposive, achievement orientated
• Considers child’s wishes and solicits their opinion • Shows interest and curiosity in novel
• Offers alternatives situations
• Does not yield to child’s coercion • Has high energy level
• Sets standards, communicates clearly, and • Maintains friendly relations with
enforces them firmly peers
• Shows displeasure at bad behaviour • Cooperative with adults
• Confronts disobedient child • Copes well with stress
• Expects mature, independent, age appropriate • Socially responsible
behaviour
• Plans cultural events and joint activities
3
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
PARENTING AND THE FAMILY
UNDERSTAND DIFFERENT TYPES OF/APPROACHES TO PARENTING
PARENTING BEHAVIOUR
Dimensions of Parenting
• There are 7 dimensions regarding parenting
o Nurturance: Showing warmth, responding needs, changing emotions
o Discipline: Explaining and providing appropriate punishment
o Teaching: Asking teaching questions
o Language: Age appropriateness and frequency
o Materials: What materials are provided to support child’s play
o Monitoring: Awareness of where the child is and what he or she is doing
o Managing: Routines, planning for the future
• Parents often rely on learning principles such as reinforcement to praise and discipline their
children and modelling behaviours they want them to adopt
• They manage aspects of their children’s environment that influence their social development
o For example, decorating their rooms, providing specific toys and books, and
arranging activities and social events (Ladd & Pettit, 2002; Parke & Buriel, 2006)
• Parenting patterns and styles tend to reflect two dimensions of behaviour: emotionality and
control
Nurturance/Emotionality
• Parents may be warm, responsive and child-centred in their approach, or rejecting,
unresponsive, and uninvolved with their children
• Emotionality is crucial to the socialisation process
o When a parent is warm and loving, the child is likely to want to maintain approval and
get distressed at the prospect of losing their love (Baumrind, 1991; Grusec & Davidov,
2007)
o If they are cold and rejecting, the threat of withdrawal of love is unlikely to be an
effective mechanism of socialisation
Discipline/Control
• Parents may be demanding and restricting of their children, or permissive and undemanding,
allowing them to do as they wish
• Successful socialisation enables a child to control their own behaviour and make
responsible choices and decisions
• Behavioural control involve es setting reasonable rules and parental use of suggestions,
reasoning and possible alternative courses of actions
o Moderate levels of control lead children to be more likely to cooperate and adopt or
internalise their parents’ standards (Barber & Harmon, 2002; Holden & Hawk, 2003)
• Psychological control involves the use of emotion-directed tactics (e.g. guilt or shame,
withdrawal of love, or ignoring/discounting one’s feelings)
o This can lead to lower self-esteem, anxiety and depression (Barber & Harmon, 2002)
1
,4PAHPDEV Psychology and Development Week 9
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
Monitoring
• In infants, lack of parental involvement is associated with disruptions in attachment
(Thompson, 2006)
• Among preschool-age, poor monitoring, combined with coercive discipline predicts conduct
problems in African American boys and girls at age 6 (Kilgore et al., 2000)
• In older children, it is associated with impulsivity, aggression, non-compliance, moodiness,
and low self-esteem (Baumrind, 1991)
• Children of uninvolved parents tend to be socially incompetent, irresponsible, immature,
and alienated from their families (Baumrind, 1991; Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002)
o They also show disruptions in cognitive development, achievement and school
performance
Adaptability
• Adaptability is the central criterion of a well-functioning family
• When family members are unbending in the face of parental dissension or family distress
over an aggressive child, routines can solidify and intensify negative patterns of interaction
(Katz & Gottman, 1997; Dishion & Bullock, 2002)
• Resistance to change can prevent parents or others from recognising problems, causing
members to blame all family difficulties on one child, who becomes the target for everyone
Boundaries
• A well-functioning family tends to have permeable boundaries that allow members to
maintain satisfying relationships both within and outside the family itself (Kerig, 2008)
• If families are too rigidly bounded, members may have difficulty disengaging appropriately
from the family
o These families may have few positive community contacts and social supports and
may be more likely than others to perceive their children negatively and be punitive
and inconsistent with them (Wahler & Duman, 1987)
• Families whose boundaries are too permeable can be vulnerable to disruptions by external
forces
PARENTING STYLES
• Baumrind (1967, 1973) identified three parenting styles based on parental interviews and
observations of parents interacting with their children
o Maccoby and Martin (1983) added a fourth style, ‘uninvolved’ (neglecting-rejecting)
o These were based on four dimensions of parenting: control, nurturance, clarity of
control, and maturity demands
Emotionality
High Warmth: Low Warmth:
Control
Warm, Responsive Rejecting, Unresponsive
High Control:
Authoritative Authoritarian
Restrictive, Demanding
Low Control:
Permissive Neglectful/Uninvolved
Permissive, Undemanding
2
, 4PAHPDEV Psychology and Development Week 9
BSc Psychology Year 1 Parenting and the Family
Authoritative Parenting
• Includes warmth and moderate restrictiveness, with the parents expecting appropriately
mature behaviour from their children, setting reasonable limits, but also being responsive
and attentive to their children’s needs
o Positive feedback is often given instead of punishment
• Baumrind found that this correlated with the behaviour of energetic-friendly children, who
exhibited positive emotional, social, and cognitive development
o Associated with the child’s development of self-esteem, adaptability, competence,
internalised control, popularity with peers, and low levels of antisocial behaviour
Parenting Style Children’s Characteristics
Authoritative Parent Energetic-Friendly Child
• Warm, involved, responsive • Cheerful and competent
• Shows pleasure and support of child’s • Self-controlled and self-reliant
constructive behaviour • Purposive, achievement orientated
• Considers child’s wishes and solicits their opinion • Shows interest and curiosity in novel
• Offers alternatives situations
• Does not yield to child’s coercion • Has high energy level
• Sets standards, communicates clearly, and • Maintains friendly relations with
enforces them firmly peers
• Shows displeasure at bad behaviour • Cooperative with adults
• Confronts disobedient child • Copes well with stress
• Expects mature, independent, age appropriate • Socially responsible
behaviour
• Plans cultural events and joint activities
3
