an essay on parenting styles

Parenting Styles and Their Influence on Adulthood Essay

Introduction.

Parents can influence their children with the help of different specific practices, targeted at guiding, controlling, and socializing young generations. The parents’ attitudes to their kids create a specific emotional atmosphere, which is traditionally called a “parenting style”. It is generally thought that the way of treatment has a serious impact on the children’s future lives and development. The typology was first introduced by Diane Baumrind and identified four major types of parental behavior: authoritarian (or disciplinarian), authoritative, permissive (or indulgent), and uninvolved (or neglectful) (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2018). There are numerous debates between experts about the pros and cons of each method of raising a child and its possible effect on the individual’s adulthood.

Parenting Styles

The features of authoritarian parenting.

Parenting styles are typically characterized by two dimensions: demandingness and responsiveness. Demandingness refers to “the extend parents control their children’s behavior or demand their maturity” (“4 Types of parenting styles and their effects,” 2021, para. 11). Responsiveness signifies “the degree parents are accepting and sensitive to their children’s emotional and developmental needs” ((“4 Types of parenting styles and their effects,” 2021, para. 12). The authoritarian type is characterized by high demandingness and low responsiveness, meaning that parents have high expectations of their kids’ achievements, giving them little response and care. This style implies indisputable obedience, with mothers and fathers applying it to “try to shape, control, and evaluate their children’s behavior based on the absolute set of standards” (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2018, p. 169). The followers of this way demand obedience and use only one-way communication, making strict discipline their priority and often using severe punishments. According to Baumrind, these parents “are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation” (as cited in Cherry, 2020, para. 8). Kids in such families tend to feel insecure and have low self-esteem, show poor performance at school, develop aggressive behavior, and even have increased risks to suffer from depression.

The Features of Authoritative Parenting

The authoritative parenting type is characterized by high levels of demandingness and responsiveness, meaning that parents expect good achievements from their kids, showing warmth and care at the same time. This style is “warmer and more autonomy granting than controlling” (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2018, p. 169). It is aimed at encouraging children to be responsible, understand the reasons for rules, and make their own decisions. The followers of this way always give explanations and reasons for their actions and decisions, teaching the young generation about values and morals. The disciplinary methods in use are negotiable and aimed at the result, establishing the purpose of regulating the behavior. Authoritative parents are always supportive and encourage the independence of their children, always promoting communication and negotiating all the problems. This style is also called democratic due to its basic features. According to Baumrind, these parents “monitor and impart clear standards for their children’s conduct…They want their children to be assertive as well as socially responsible, and self-regulated as well as cooperative” (Cherry, 2020, para. 11). In such families, children are usually happy, more independent, successful, and have good self-esteem, communication skills, and better mental health.

The Features of Permissive Parenting

Permissive parenting is characterized by low demandingness and high responsiveness, meaning that parents are always nurturing and warm, and reluctant to establish rules. In such families, children are not used to hearing the denial of their requests as their parents are afraid to hurt them. Baumrind says that the followers of this style “are more responsive than they are demanding. They are non-traditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation” (as cited in Cherry, 2020, para. 14). Typically, these parents become friends with their children, forgetting that their basic duty is to teach the young generation the principal rules of life. The kids in such families tend to have behavior and emotional problems and show worse performance in studying as they cannot follow rules, have little self-control, and have poor social skills.

The Features of Uninvolved Parenting

Uninvolved parenting is characterized by low levels of demandingness and responsiveness, meaning that children have little emotional support and no rules. Such parents are neglectful of their children’s needs and desires. This situation can occur in families with parents having alcohol or drug abuse, or those who have been neglected in their childhood. Kids in such households are usually more impulsive, have low self-esteem and poor communication skills, and tend to have serious mental or behavioral problems in their future life, including criminal issues. The uninvolved or neglectful parenting style is considered to be the worst as it can lead to serious problems in adulthood.

The Parenting Styles’ Influence on Individual’s Future Life

The reasons parenting styles influence.

There have been numerous debates and research about the influence of each parental style on the future life of the person. The family context is regarded as essential because it helps to establish the link between childhood and the relationships of a person with their parents with future behavior and performance. For example, the research, held in 2019 in Spain and Portugal, has shown that this context “continues to play a fundamental role in young peoples’ development, even during the third decade of their lives” (Parra et al., 2019, para. 35). A study has shown that the most widespread parenting style is authoritarian, “being twice as common as the authoritative one” (Parra et al., 2019, para. 37). The family context remains meaningful during the whole life of the person as it is the background serving as a basis for all the future intentions. The atmosphere, in which an individual is being raised, has an impact on their future behavior, attitudes, academic and career achievements, and even health and mental problems.

The Impact on Behavior

Numerous studies showed the correlation of parenting styles with future behavior. According to the research held in 2018, “children of authoritarian parents demonstrated more negative (i.e., hyperactivity, conduct problems, emotional symptoms) and less positive (i.e., prosocial behavior) child outcomes compared to children whose parents belonged to another parenting style” (Kuppens & Ceulemans, 2018, p. 175). The study has demonstrated that the authoritarian ways of parenting lead to the poorest future behavior. The findings of the research have also proved that even children with neglectful parents had fewer problems than those from authoritarian families. Meanwhile, those with authoritative mothers and fathers showed the lowest levels of conduct problems. These results prove that there is a strong connection between the way of upbringing and future behavior patterns.

Parenting style has also been found influential for a future level of the individual’s independence. For example, one research has demonstrated that children in authoritative families “reported the lowest expectation for behavioral autonomy” (Bi et al., 2018, p. 10). This result may be explained by the fact they have already achieved a good level of independence due to their positive relations with their parents, who set a goal of socialization by respecting their children’s needs. In contrast to this style, adolescents from families with an authoritarian way of upbringing tend to seek more autonomy because it is not available to them due to strict control over their lives. Permissive and neglectful parents do not set rules, and children in these families tend to “experience high levels of independence before they can manage it themselves” (Bi et al., 2018, p. 10). This study proved that the behavior and, in particular, the level of independence directly depends on the parenting style, and the authoritative style showed the best results.

The Impact on Academic Achievements and Career

There are numerous types of research, proving that parenting styles influence the future academic achievements and career of the individual. For example, one of the studies examined 310 students and found “a positive and significant relationship between the firm and reassuring parenting style”, while the authoritarian way proved “a negative relationship with educational success and career path” (Zahedani, 2016, p. 132). The research has shown that parental involvement and support are key components for better achievements. It has also been found that successful students had parents with firm styles and those with authoritative methods of upbringing “had the least scores” (Zahedani, 2016, p. 133). Another study has found that parental involvement is also a critical factor influencing self-efficacy and self-discipline in the process of learning among adolescents (Theresya et al., 2018). According to this research, the permissive parenting style “has a significant negative effect on academic achievement”, while the authoritative one proved to have a positive impact on the children’s success (Theresya et al., 2018, p. 36). All of these studies demonstrate that the way of upbringing has a serious impact on the academic achievements and future success of grown-up children.

Moreover, the results of numerous types of research have shown that there is a strong correlation between the way of upbringing and future career achievements. For example, one of the studies has found that a firm parenting style leads to positive career development (Zahedani, 2016). The study proves the right interaction can be beneficial for the future career of an individual. According to another research, the authoritarian parenting style is also found to be the most useful due to the high level of parental control, encouraging children to be resilient and prepared for life challenges (Preston & Salim, 2019). Another research, held in 2018, highlighted that the achievements of grown-up children depend on the activities, which their parents chose for them (Viola & Daniel, 2018). According to this criterion, authoritative mothers and fathers have a positive influence on their children’s career development as they allow them to participate in numerous activities, motivating them to become more explorative and self-reliant. All of these studies prove that there is a strong impact of parenting styles on the future career achievements of children.

The Impact on the Psychological State

Numerous studies, held in different European countries, established finding the link between parenting styles and the mental state of grown-up children as their priority. For example, the research, conducted in Spain and Portugal, proved that there is a strong connection between these two notions. According to the results of their study, “the authoritative and permissive styles are those most closely associated with high levels of wellbeing, while children who perceive their parents as neglectful and authoritarian scored lowest in this variable” (Parra et al., 2019, para. 39). Another research has found that “there is a significant relationship between the dimensions (indifference abuse and over-controlling) of parenting style of mother and the dimensions (stress, anxiety, and depression) of mental health” (Jahan & Suri, 2016, p. 3). These outcomes highlight that warm relationships between parents and their children lead to a more stable psychological state in the future, decreasing the chances of such serious mental conditions as depression and anxiety.

However, other studies provide information that parenting styles are not the only key reason for the appearance of mental health problems in adulthood. According to one of the studies, such factors as poverty level and bullying have a more serious contribution to the problem (Rezvan & D’Souza, 2017). The research proves that there is a correlation between parenting styles and the risks of future mental issues; however, there are other reasons which may appear to be more relevant from this perspective.

The Role of Gender

There have been numerous debates and studies, concerning the influence of parenting styles on children of different genders, trying to understand who is more susceptible to this impact, boys or girls. According to the research held in Spain and Portugal, there are many similarities in the level of distress among males and females. The authoritarian type was found to be the most damaging to both genders, while “the permissive and authoritative styles were most closely related to wellbeing” (Parra et al., 2019, para. 44). On the contrary, the research held in China showed that “the relationships between parenting styles and cohesion were stronger for girls” (Bi et al., 2018, p. 11). According to the results of the study, it is connected with the fact that females are usually more sensitive and emotional. However, it also highlighted numerous similarities between the reactions of boys and girls, making the conclusion that parenting styles influence both genders.

Parenting style is an important concept, referring to the way parents treat their children. There are four major types: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. There have been many types of research aimed at proving the influence of the atmosphere at home on various aspects of the future development of the child. Most of the studies have shown that the authoritative way of raising the young generation is the most beneficial. Kids in such families tend to have higher levels of self-esteem and independence, show better academic performance, demonstrate better social skills and good behavior, and have fewer chances to acquire such serious health conditions as depression and anxiety. On the contrary, multiple studies prove that the authoritarian style has more disadvantages as it makes children dependent on their parents due to a lower level of autonomy, and leads to behavior and mental problems in adulthood. In many aspects, this style is considered to be even worse than the neglectful type, which implies that parents do not take care of their children.

The studies have shown that each of the existing parenting styles, even the neglectful one, which is regarded to be the worst type due to the total ignorance of children’s needs, has its advantages and negative consequences. All of the studied works prove that the approach to parenting has a huge impact on the future life of children, including their behavior, relations with other people, achievements, and physical and mental health. A good parent needs to be considerate about their decisions when raising children and understand that all their actions influence their kids, determining their success and failures in adulthood.

Bi, X., Yang, Y., Li, H., Wang, M., Zhang, W, & Deater-Deckard, K. (2018). Parenting styles and parent-adolescent relationships: The mediating roles of behavioral autonomy and parental authority . Frontiers in Psychology, 9 (2187).

Cherry, K. (2020). Why parenting styles matter when raising children . Verywell Mind.

Jahan, A., & Suri, S. (2016). Parenting style in relation to mental health among female adolescents . Abnormal Behavior Psychology, 2 (125).

Kuppens, S., & Ceulemans E. (2018). Parenting styles: A closer look at a well-known concept. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28 (1), 168–181.

4 Types of parenting styles and their effects. (2021). Parenting for Brain.

Parra, A., Sánchez-Queija, I., del Carmen García-Mendoza, M., Coimbra, S., Oliveira, S.E., & Diez, M. (2019). Perceived parenting styles and adjustment during emerging adulthood: A cross-national perspective . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (15).

Preston, M., & Salim, R.M.A. (2019). Parenting style, proactive personality, and career decision self-efficacy among senior high school students. Humanitas Indonesian Psychological Journal, 16 (2), 116-128.

Rezvan, A., & D’Souza, L. (2017). Influence of parenting styles on the mental health of adolescents. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 6 (4), 667-673.

Theresya, J., Latifah, M., & Hernawati, N. (2018). The effect of parenting style, self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning on adolescents’ academic achievements. Journal of Child Development Studies, 3 (1), 28-43.

Viola, M., & Daniel, N. (2018). Influence of parenting styles on career development of youths with intellectual disabilities in selected skills training institutions in Zambia. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 5 (12), 69-77.

Zahedani, Z.Z., Rezaee, R., Yazdani, Z., Bagheri, S., & Nabeiei, P. (2016). The influence of parenting style on academic achievement and career path. Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism, 4 (3), 130-134.

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What Is Your Parenting Style, and Why Does It Matter?

From authoritarian to authoritative, permissive to neglectful, we're breaking down different types of parenting styles. Which one do you practice? 

Authoritarian Parenting

Permissive parenting, authoritative parenting, neglectful or uninvolved parenting, sub-types of parenting styles.

Your parenting style can affect everything from your child's self-esteem to their academic success. It's important to ensure your parenting style supports healthy growth and development because the way you interact with your child—and how you discipline them— will influence them for the rest of their life. 

Researchers have identified four main types of parenting styles that take a unique approach to raising children:

• Authoritarian
• Authoritative

People often want to know which parenting style they're using, and which one is the best overall. The truth is that there's no one right way to parent, but the general parenting style that most experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recommend is an authoritative approach.

Read on to learn the difference between these four major parenting styles, with information about popular subtypes like helicopter parenting, free-range parenting, tiger parenting, and more.

Baumrind's Four Parenting Styles

In the 1960s, developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind described three distinct parenting styles—authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive—based on parental demands and responsiveness to children. A fourth style, neglectful, was added later based on work by other researchers.

Do any of these statements sound like you?

• You believe kids should be seen and not heard.
• When it comes to rules, you believe it's "my way or the highway."
• You don't take your child's feelings into consideration.
• You've uttered the words "because I said so" when a child questions the reasons behind a rule.

If any of those ring true, you might be an authoritarian parent. The authoritarian style of parenting focuses on strict rules, obedience, and discipline. These parents have high expectations, and they don't hesitate to punish when children don't follow their guidelines.

Authoritarian parents take over the decision-making power, rarely giving children any input in the matter. Similar to an army drill sergeant, authoritarian parents are not nurturing, lenient, or communicable. They make the rules and enforce the consequences with little regard for a child's opinion.

How authoritarian parenting affects children

When raised by an authoritarian parent, children are often well-behaved at home, but they may rebel when with classmates or friends. Kids may also struggle with the following:

• Social skills
• Indecisiveness and trouble thinking on their own
• Low self-esteem
• Poor judge of character
• Anger management and resentfulness
• Hostility and aggression

Some research also indicates that children whose parents were authoritarian reported more substance use and higher instances of depression.

• You set rules but rarely enforce them.
• You don't give out consequences very often.
• You think your child will learn best with little interference from you.
• You let your children do what they want—even if it's drinking soda at every meal.

If those statements sound familiar, you might practice permissive parenting . Permissive parents are lenient, only stepping in when there's a serious problem. They're quite forgiving and they adopt an attitude of "kids will be kids." Oftentimes they act more like friends than authoritative figures.

Permissive parents cater to their children's needs without giving out much discipline . When they do use consequences, they may not stick. For example, they'll give privileges back if a child begs, or they may allow a child to get out of time-out early if they promise to be good. Permissive parents are the total opposite of strict.

How permissive parenting affects children

Since they have a high standing in the household, children of permissive parents are accustomed to getting whatever they want. They may exhibit more behavioral problems as they don't appreciate authority and rules.

Other downsides of the permissive parenting style can include:

• Lack of responsibility
• Difficulty with decision-making
• Impulsiveness and aggressiveness
• Lack of independence and personal responsibility
• Anxiety and depression
• Academic struggles

Kids who are parented permissively often act entitled, egocentric, and selfish. These children might also fail to put effort into school, work, or social endeavors since they don't have to put in any effort at home.

Additionally, kids raised by permissive parents are at a higher risk for health problems, like obesity , because permissive parents struggle to limit unhealthy food intake or promote regular exercise or healthy sleep habits. They're more likely to have dental cavities because permissive parents often don't enforce good habits, like ensuring a child brushes their teeth.

The "Gold Standard" Parenting Style

Experts consider authoritative parenting to be the most developmentally healthy and effective parenting style. Research has found kids who have authoritative parents are most likely to become confident, responsible adults who feel comfortable self-advocating and expressing their opinions and feelings.

• You put a lot of effort into creating and maintaining a positive relationship with your child.
• You explain the reasons behind your rules.
• You set limits, enforce rules, and give consequences, but also consider your child's feelings. 
• You use positive discipline strategies such as praise and rewards.

If those statements sound familiar, you might practice authoritative parenting , which is considered to be the "gold standard" parenting style. Authoritative parents provide their children with rules and boundaries, but they also give them the freedom to make decisions.

With an authoritative parenting style, parents validate their children's feelings while also making it clear that the adults are ultimately in charge. They invest time and energy into preventing behavior problems before they start. They also use positive discipline strategies , like praise and reward systems, to reinforce positive behavior.

Authoritative parents view mistakes as a learning experience, and they have clear expectations for their children. They're nurturing and warm, yet they instill the importance of responsibility and discipline.

How authoritative parenting affects children

Children raised with authoritative parenting tend to be happy, confident, and successful. They're also more likely to make sound decisions and evaluate safety risks on their own. Authoritative parenting is linked to academic achievement, heightened self-esteem, and resiliency.

Kids with authoritative parents tend to have the following positive outcomes:

• Close, nurturing relationships with parents
• Tendency to be responsible and respectful
• Ability to manage their aggression
• High degrees of self-esteem, self-confidence , and self-regulation
• More likely to be happy and successful
• Ability to clearly express their emotions

Kids who are parented authoritatively can be trusted to make the right decision on their own, and they often set high expectations for themselves. These children may also perform well academically and socially, and they're less likely to misuse drugs or alcohol.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

• You don't ask your child about school or homework.
• You rarely know where your child is or who they're with.
• You don't spend much time with your child.
• You don't have many rules and expectations.

If those statements sound familiar, you might be an uninvolved or neglectful parent. Essentially, neglectful parents ignore their children, who receive little guidance, nurturing, and parental attention. They don't set rules or expectations, and they tend to have minimal knowledge about what their children are doing.

Uninvolved parents expect children to raise themselves. They don't devote much time or energy to meeting children's basic needs. At times, uninvolved parents lack knowledge about child development—or they may believe that their child will do better without their oversight.

Uninvolved parents may be neglectful but it's not always intentional. A parent with mental health issues or substance abuse problems, for example, may not be able to care for a child's physical or emotional needs consistently.

How uninvolved parenting affects children

Without any guidance, structure, or parental involvement, children of neglectful parents often act out. Research has found that kids with uninvolved parents have the worst outcomes, and they're more likely to experience the following:

• Substance use
• Rebelliousness
• Delinquency (vandalism, assault, rape, petty theft)
• Lower cognitive and emotional empathy
• Diminished self-esteem

Children of uninvolved parents might, for example, get in trouble at school or with the law. In addition, they might hesitate to form bonds with other people and exhibit depression. Academic performance and social competence often suffer.

Getty Images / Shaw Photography Co.

Of course, there are plenty of parenting style subtypes, including the following

Free-range parenting

Helicopter parenting, snowplow parenting, lighthouse parenting, attachment parenting, tiger parenting.

Free-range parents give their children the independence of being less supervised or unsupervised in public. For a long time, parents who practiced this style were considered neglectful, and many thought they endangered their kids.

But more recently (and after much debate) states like Utah passed laws in favor of the hands-off parenting style. Specifically, Utah changed the definition of neglect so it doesn't include certain independent childhood activities like walking to school and playing outside. Proponents say it can instill amazing qualities like self-sufficiency and resilience.

If you're an overprotective parent who feels the need to control most aspects of your child's life, you likely fit the bill of a helicopter parent . Helicopter parents constantly intervene in their kid's life, and they obsess about successes and failures.

The risk-assessing tendencies of helicopter parents are often driven by fear and anxiety. Parents who intervene in this way can hinder a child's ability to learn integral life skills, confidence, and self-sufficiency. Research by the American Psychological Association found that kids who experience helicopter parenting are less likely to be able to manage their emotions and behavior.

Snowplow parents (also known as lawnmower or bulldozer parents) are willing to drop everything to fulfill their child's wants and demands, no matter how small. They essentially "plow down" anything standing in their child's way.

These types of parents often have good intentions and don't want their children to experience struggle. However, their habits don't provide a foundation for long-term happiness, and they can worsen a child's anxiety about failure. An extreme example of snowplow parenting involves the college admissions scandal , where numerous high-profile celebrity parents were convicted of bribing colleges to admit their children.

One of the more balanced methods of parenting, the lighthouse approach was coined by pediatrician and author Kenneth Ginsburg, MD. In his book, Raising Kids to Thrive: Balancing Love With Expectations and Protection With Trust, Dr. Ginsburg writes: "We should be like lighthouses for our children. Stable beacons of light on the shoreline from which they can measure themselves against."

The lighthouse parenting style involves finding the perfect balance between loving, protecting, communicating, and nurturing your child. Parents seek to guide and support their children, much like a lighthouse does.

Attachment parenting involves a nurturing and hands-on approach. These parents think that putting a child's needs first leads to independence and emotional stability. Parents who follow this style value physical closeness, bed-sharing and co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding , positive discipline, and other attachment-based approaches to raising children.

A study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found an association between sensitive-responsive parenting and children’s language skills. Specifically, kids of parents with higher levels of responsiveness and warmth had more than two times better language skills than children whose parents were less responsive. On the other hand, this parenting style is demanding and can sometimes feel out of balance when parents are less flexible in their approach.

Often displaying rigid and harsh characteristics, tiger parents expect obedience and success. This term gained mainstream attention due to Amy Chua's book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom , where she describes tiger parenting as an authoritarian method commonly used in Chinese culture.

Some research has found a correlation between tiger parenting and anxiety in children , possibly due to their parent's high demands and constant expectations for perfection.

Additional reporting by Amy Morin, LCSW  

Parenting and Boundary Setting: Pediatric Mental Health Minute Series . American Academy of Pediatrics .

Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept .  J Child Fam Stud. 2019.

Psychosocial consequences of parenting .  IOSR J Hum Soc Sci . 2016.

Types of Parenting Styles and Effects On Children .  StatPearls  [Internet]. Updated 2022.

Role of parenting styles in adolescent substance use: results from a Swedish longitudinal cohort study . BMJ Open.  2016.

Authoritarian parenting and youth depression: Results from a national study .  Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community.  2016.

Role of Parenting Style in Children’s Behavioral Problems through the Transition from Preschool to Elementary School According to Gender in Japan . Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health . 2019.

Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept .  J Child Fam Stud . 2019.

Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes .  Societies . 2014.

Psychosocial Consequences of Parenting . IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science . 2016.

Helicopter Parenting May Negatively Affect Children’s Emotional Well-Being, Behavior . American Psychological Association . 2018.

Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme . United States Attorney's Office . Updated 2023.

Parenting Behavior and Child Language: A Meta-analysis . American Academy of Pediatrics . 2019.

The moderating effects of positive psychological strengths on the relationship between tiger parenting and child anxiety . Children and Youth Services Review . 2018.

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Why Parenting Styles Matter When Raising Children

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Laura Porter

The Four Parenting Styles

• Impact of Parenting Style

Advantages of Authoritative Parenting

Can you change your parenting style.

• Limitations and Criticism

Parenting styles are constructs used to describe the different strategies parents tend to utilize when raising children. These styles encompass parents' behaviors and attitudes and the emotional environment in which they raise their children.

Developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents affect child development. However, finding actual cause-and-effect links between specific actions of parents and later behavior of children is very difficult.

Some children raised in dramatically different environments can later grow up to have remarkably similar personalities . Conversely, children who share a home and are raised in the same environment can grow up to have very different personalities.

Despite these challenges, researchers have posited that there are links between parenting styles and the effects these styles have on children. And some suggest these effects carry over into adult behavior.

In the 1960s, psychologist Diana Baumrind conducted a study on more than 100 preschool-age children. Using naturalistic observation , parental interviews, and other research methods , she identified some important dimensions of parenting.

These dimensions include disciplinary strategies, warmth and nurturing, communication styles, and expectations of maturity and control. Based on these dimensions, Baumrind suggested that the majority of parents display one of three different parenting styles. Later research by Maccoby and Martin suggested adding a fourth parenting style. Each of these has different effects on children's behavior.

The four parenting styles that have been identify by Baumrind and other researchers are:

• The authoritarian parenting style
• The authoritative parenting style
• The permissive parenting style
• The uninvolved parenting style

What's Your Parenting Style?

This fast and free parenting styles quiz can help you analyze the methods you're using to parent your kids and whether or not it may be a good idea to learn some new parenting behaviors:

Authoritarian Parenting

In this style of parenting, children are expected to follow the strict rules established by the parents. Failure to follow such rules usually results in punishment.

Authoritarian parents don't explain the reasoning behind these rules. If asked to explain, the parent might simply reply, "Because I said so."

Other common characteristics:

• While these parents have high demands, they are not very responsive to their children.
• They expect their children to behave exceptionally and not make errors, yet they provide little direction about what they should do or avoid in the future.
• Mistakes are punished, often quite harshly, yet their children are often left wondering exactly what they did wrong.

Baumrind says these parents "are obedience- and status-oriented, and expect their orders to be obeyed without explanation." They are often described as domineering and dictatorial. Their approach is "spare the rod, spoil the child." They expect children to obey without question.

Effects of Authoritarian Parenting

Authoritarian parenting styles generally lead to obedient and proficient children, but they rank lower in happiness, social competence, and  self-esteem . They may also be more likely to lie to avoid punishment.

Authoritative Parenting

Like authoritarian parents, those with an authoritative parenting style establish rules and guidelines that their children are expected to follow. However, this parenting style is much more democratic.

Common characteristics of the authoritative parenting style:

• Authoritative parents are responsive to their children and willing to listen to questions.
• These parents expect a lot of their children, but they provide warmth, feedback, and adequate support.
• When children fail to meet expectations, these parents are more nurturing and forgiving than punishing.

According to Baumrind, authoritarive parents are good at setting standards and monitoring their children's behavior. Their disciplinary methods are assertive and supportive rather than intrusive, restrictive, or punitive.

For authoritative parents, the goal is to raise children who are socially responsible, cooperative, and self-regulated. The combination of expectation and support helps children of authoritative parents develop skills such as independence, self-control, and self-regulation. 

Effects of Authoritative Parenting

Authoritative parenting styles tend to result in happy, capable, and successful children.

Permissive Parenting

Permissive parents , sometimes referred to as indulgent parents, make very few demands of their children. These parents rarely discipline their children because they have relatively low expectations of maturity and self-control.​

• Other common characteristics of permissive parenting:
• Permissive parents prioritize being their child's friend rather than being a parent.
• They are warm and attentive but tend to set few rules, rarely enforce rules, and have few expectations.
• They allow their children to make their own decisions. 

According to Baumrind, permissive parents are responsive to their children but not demanding. Because they do not expect mature behavior from their children, kids may struggle to set limits for themselves. On the positive side, this can help kids become more self-sufficient and independent. On the downside, it can contribute to poor self-regulation.

Permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative with their children, often taking on the status of a friend more than a parent.

Effects of Permissive Parenting

Permissive parenting often results in children who rank low in happiness and self-regulation. These children are more likely to experience problems with authority and tend to perform poorly in school.

Uninvolved Parenting

In addition to the three major styles introduced by Baumrind, psychologists Eleanor Maccoby and John Martin proposed a fourth style: uninvolved or neglectful parenting.

An uninvolved parenting style is characterized by few demands, low responsiveness, and very little communication.

Other characteristics of the uninvolved parenting style:

• While these parents fulfill the child's basic needs, they are generally detached from their child's life.
• They might ensure that their kids are fed and have shelter but offer little to nothing in the way of guidance, structure, rules, or even support.
• These parents may seem indifferent, unresponsive, and dismissive.
• In some cases, these parents may reject or neglect the needs of their children. They may also be physically or emotionally abusive.

A 2019 study found that children raised by neglectful parents tend to struggle in school, experience more depression, have worse social relationships, have difficulty controlling their emotions, and experience more anxiety.

Effects of Uninvolved Parenting

Uninvolved parenting styles rank lowest across all life domains. These children tend to lack self-control, have low self-esteem, and are less competent than their peers.

The Impact of Parenting Styles

Research suggests that parenting styles can have a range of effects on children. Some of the areas of a child's life that may be affected in the present and in the future include:

• Academics : Parenting styles can play a part in academic achievement and motivation.
• Mental health : Parenting styles can also influence children's mental well-being. Kids raised by authoritarian, permissive, or uninvolved parents tend to experience more anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
• Self-esteem : Kids raised by parents with an authoritative style tend to have strong self-esteem than kids raised by parents with other styles,
• Social relationships : Parenting styles can impact how kids relate to other people. For example, kids raised by permissive parents are more likely to be bullied, while kids raised by authoritarian parents are more likely to bully others.
• Adult relationships : Researchers have also found that kids raised by strict, authoritarian parents may be more likely to experience emotional abuse in adult romantic relationships.

Because authoritative parents are more likely to be viewed as reasonable, fair, and just, their children are more likely to comply with their parents' requests. Also, because these parents provide rules as well as explanations for these rules, children are much more likely to internalize these lessons.

Rather than simply following the rules because they fear punishment (as they might with authoritarian parents), the children of authoritative parents are able to see why the rules exist, understand that they are fair and acceptable, and strive to follow these rules to meet their own internalized sense of what is right and wrong.

Mixing Parenting Styles

The parenting styles of individual parents also combine to create a unique blend in each family. For example, the mother may display an authoritative style, while the father favors a more permissive approach.

This can sometimes lead to mixed signals. To create a cohesive approach to parenting, parents must learn to cooperate and combine their unique parenting styles.

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If you notice that you tend to be more authoritarian, permissive, or uninvolved, there are steps you can take to adopt a more authoritative parenting style. Strategies that may help include:

• Listen : Spending time listening to what your child has to say. Let them share their opinions, ideas, and worries with you. 
• Establish rules : Create a clear set of rules for your household and communicate your expectations to your child. In addition to telling your child what the rules are, be sure to explain why these rules exist.
• Consider your child's input : Authoritative parents set the rules but are also willing to listen to their child's feelings and consider them when making decisions.
• Be consistent : Enforce rules consistently, but be sure to provide consequences that are fair, proportionate, and educational. 

Developing a more authoritative parenting style takes time. With practice and consistent effort, however, you will find that your approach to parenting gradually shifts to a more supportive, involved approach that can lead to better developmental outcomes.

Limitations of Parenting Style Research

Links between parenting styles and behavior are based on correlational research , which is helpful for finding relationships between variables . However, such research cannot establish definitive cause-and-effect relationships.

While there is evidence that a particular parenting style is linked to a specific pattern of behavior, other variables, such as a child's temperament, can also play a significant role.

Children May Affect Their Parents' Styles

There is also evidence that a child's behavior can impact parenting styles. One study found that the parents of children who exhibited difficult behavior began to exhibit less parental control over time. Such results suggest that kids might misbehave not because their parents were too permissive but because the parents of difficult or aggressive children gave up on trying to control their kids.

Outcomes Vary

Some researchers have also noted that the correlations between parenting styles and behaviors are sometimes weak. In many cases, the expected child outcomes do not materialize. For example, parents with authoritative styles may have children who are defiant or who engage in delinquent behavior. Parents with permissive styles may have self-confident and academically successful children.

Cultural Factors Play a Role

Cultural factors also play a significant role in parenting styles and child outcomes. There isn't a universal style of parenting that is always best. For example, while authoritative parenting is linked to better results in European and American cultures, research has also found that this style is not linked to better school performance Black and Asian youth.

Parenting styles are associated with different child outcomes, and the authoritative style is generally linked to positive behaviors such as strong self-esteem and self-competence. However, other important factors, including culture, children's temperament, children's perceptions of parental treatment, and social influences, also play an important role in children's behavior.

A Word From Verywell

Understanding more about your own parenting style can help you explore different approaches to parenting your children. If you notice that you tend to have a more strict, indulgent, or dismissive approach, there are steps that you can take to become more involved and authoritative in how you relate to your children.

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Durrant J, Ensom R.  Physical punishment of children: lessons from 20 years of research .  CMAJ . 2012;184(12):1373-7. doi:10.1503/cmaj.101314

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Kuppens S, Ceulemans E. Parenting styles: A closer look at a well-known concept .  J Child Fam Stud . 2019;28(1):168-181. doi:10.1007/s10826-018-1242-x

Alizadeh Maralani F, Mirnasab M, Hashemi T. The predictive role of maternal parenting and stress on pupils' bullying involvement .  J Interpers Violence . 2019;34(17):3691-3710. doi:10.1177/0886260516672053

Beyarslan SD, Uzer T. Psychological control and indulgent parenting predict emotional-abuse victimization in romantic relationships . Curr Psychol . 2022;41(8):5532-5545. doi:10.1007/s12144-020-01072-w

Bi X, Yang Y, Li H, Wang M, Zhang W, Deater-deckard K. Parenting styles and parent-adolescent relationships: the mediating roles of behavioral autonomy and parental authority . Front Psychol . 2018;9:2187. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02187

Huh D, Tristan J, Wade E, Stice E. Does problem behavior elicit poor parenting?: A prospective study of adolescent girls .  J Adolesc Res . 2006;21(2):185-204. doi:10.1177/0743558405285462

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Parenting Styles

Reviewed by Psychology Today Staff

It is a stereotype that, in therapy, all of a person’s problems will be blamed on their parents. That is not the case. But decades of psychological research have suggested that the approach to parenting generally followed by an individual’s mother and/or father can influence the way they approach relationships, challenges, and opportunities. That doesn’t mean that an adult can’t change, of course, especially once they understand what may be influencing their behavior. And parents who become aware of the pitfalls of their own style and how it may affect their kids can also change.

For more on dysfunctional parenting, click here .

On This Page

• What are the four major parenting styles?
• How can a parent’s style predict a child’s future relationships?
• How can mothers and fathers tell what their parenting style is?
• How can parents become more authoritative?
• What is supportive parenting?
• What is attachment parenting?
• How can mothers and fathers transition away from attachment parenting?

Research begun by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind in the 1960s identified three main parenting styles —authoritarian, indulgent, and authoritative. Later studies added a fourth—neglectful. Every parent does not neatly fit into one of these four categories but they describe the approaches of many.

• An authoritarian parent seeks to maintain a high level of control over their children. They may set and adhere to a strict set of rules, and are more likely to support and take part in corporal punishment such as spanking. Children of highly authoritarian parents may struggle socially and may be likely to become authoritarian parents themselves.
• Neglectful parents (also known as uninvolved or disengaged) take on a limited parenting role. They may not spend as much time as other parents in conversation, play, or other activities, and may not bother to set many house rules. Some children of neglectful parents may resist rules outside of the home and struggle with self-control.
• Indulgent (or permissive) parents may be attentive and warm, but may not set many rules for their children. They may prioritize being their child’s friend over being their parent. Research suggests that the children of permissive parents may show higher levels of creativity but may also feel entitled, and be more interested in taking rather than giving in their own relationships.
• Authoritative parents follow what is widely understood as the preferred approach. Such parents are more pragmatic and flexible. They set clear boundaries but also encourage children’s independence within those limits. Discipline in such families may be more supportive than punitive, and as children get older, their independence increases. Children of authoritative parents may have more highly developed self-control and self-reliance.

Recent research suggests that, in some families, a parent’s style, especially as it relates to maintaining control over their children, could leave their kids vulnerable to emotional abuse from future partners, employers, and and others. Researchers found that people raised with a parent who maintained strict psychological control over them grew to be especially vulnerable to emotionally abusive partners. The effect appeared to be offset, though, by experiencing emotional warmth from the other parent. Research continues to explore the effect of differing parenting styles in the same family, and whether it matters if a mother or father is the authoritarian.

Much research of parenting styles has examined how the styles affect children as they grow up, and how negative effects could be tempered. But other studies have focused on helping parents become more self-aware and change their styles to develop healthier relationships with their kids . Some researchers have developed analytical scales in which parents indicate how they would respond to certain scenarios with an eye toward helping them shift, perhaps through therapy, to a more moderate approach.

In practical terms, most parents do not think of themselves as authoritarian, authoritative, or otherwise, and many mothers and fathers are self-aware enough to know that they may not be consistent with their kids at all times. Experts suggest that attention to some general guidelines can help parents develop a healthier style—for example, being consciously warm and loving toward children, setting age-appropriate limits, actively listening to children’s concerns, gently but firmly asking to be treated with respect, and “catching” kids being good , while making sure they know they’ve been seen and acknowledged.

Supportive parenting describes an approach to authoritative parenting in which mothers and fathers are conscious of how often they say no to children (as they often must, especially when kids are young) so that they can seek more opportunities to say yes to them in encouraging ways that help kids develop confidence and self-esteem. When children are mostly told what they cannot do, they can feel rejected by a parent, even a well-meaning one, with potentially negative emotional outcomes. Being consciously supportive and selfless with children can help them internalize belief in themselves.

Attachment parenting , a term coined by pediatrician William Sears, describes an approach to parenting in which mothers and fathers are physically and emotionally close to their children, especially at an early age, and is characterized in practice by extended periods of breastfeeding and co-sleeping. Sears referred to it as “what mothers and fathers would do instinctively if they were raising their baby on a desert island.” There is little evidence, however, that this approach leads to more positive psychological outcomes for children and many experts reject attachment parenting as unnecessarily demanding of parents and potentially creating conflict and division between new parents.

Parents who commit themselves to attachment parenting and have the time and temperament to maintain the approach throughout early childhood may then be faced with the challenge of weaning their children from the approach. These mothers and fathers may need to consciously practice “ detachment parenting ” so that children entering early adolescence can develop independence and healthy friendships, while resisting feeling rejected themselves as kids begin to resist a parent’s efforts to hold onto their previous level of connection.

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Home / Parenting, Kids & Teens / The 4 types of parenting styles: What style is right for you?

The 4 types of parenting styles: What style is right for you?

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A parent’s job is to prepare their children to be adults who are capable of taking care of themselves and overcoming difficulties. It’s not an easy job. Parents have to set appropriate limits, watch their children fail and let them feel the consequences of their actions. Sometimes parents even endure the harsh screams of “I hate you!” or other painful words.

“I tell parents that it’s OK for your kids to be mad at you and not like you because of the limit you set,” said Hannah L. Mulholland, LICSW, MSW, a Mayo Clinic pediatric social worker. “You’re the best person in the world for them not to like and be mad at because you’re the one person who’s not going to desert them. You’re still going to love them, even when they’re mad at you. But for many parents, the reason they don’t set limits is because they want to be liked.”

Parenting is about supporting children while they make their own mistakes, take on age-appropriate responsibilities, think for themselves and solve their own problems. How you do that is up to you.

For example, you can let your kids choose how and when to do their homework — but also let them know that if they don’t do it, there may be consequences at school. “Let your kid be distressed. Let your kid make mistakes,” Mulholland says. “That’s how they learn.”

Kids who don’t learn might enter the adult world woefully unprepared or even afraid because they don’t know how to have relationships, do their laundry or manage their money. “They get in over their heads because they don’t really know what their own capacity is,” Mulholland says.

4 parenting styles

There are four main parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and neglectful. You don’t have to commit to one style. It’s natural to use different styles in different situations. When safety is at stake, a parent might use a firm authoritarian style that leaves no room for negotiation. But a parent might put consequences on hold and lean into a permissive approach to encourage a teenager to call for help if they put themselves in a dangerous situation.

“As parents, we are all doing the best we can each day,” Mulholland says. “Our intentions are always good, but we struggle to execute depending on our own capacity in the moment. Give yourself a break as a parent and recognize your own limits. All of the advice in this article is for when you are your very best self, not necessarily something you can implement all the time.”

Here’s a look at each of the four styles.

Authoritative parenting style

Authoritative parenting is often considered the ideal style for its combination of warmth and flexibility while still making it clear that the parents are in charge. (3) Children of authoritative parents know what is expected of them. Their parents explain reasons for the rules and consequences for breaking them. Parents also listen to their child’s opinions, but the parent remains the ultimate decision maker.

Authoritative parents develop close, nurturing relationships with their children. Children with authoritative parents tend to grow up confident, responsible and capable of managing their emotions. They are also friendly, curious and achievement-oriented.

What is an example of authoritative parenting style?

One place where parenting style shows is at mealtimes. Authoritative parents have more family meals where the parents model eating behaviors — rather than imposing strict restrictions. The parents will include the children in meal preparation. Perhaps the child will choose what’s for dinner one night a week or choose the side dish. Research shows that children of authoritative mothers have a high quality of diet and eat more fruit than children from different parenting styles.

Permissive parenting style

Permissive parents might pride themselves on being their child’s best friend. These parents are warm and nurturing with open communication. They are actively involved in their children’s emotional well-being. They also have low expectations and use discipline sparingly. Permissive parents let children make their own choices, but also bail them out if it doesn’t go well.

Children of permissive parents have the freedom to make decisions like what to eat, when to go to bed and whether to do their homework. These children tend to have good self-esteem and social skills. But they can be impulsive, demanding and lack the ability to self-regulate. (1) Permissive parents often try to control their child’s environment, so the child doesn’t have to experience rejection or failure. This means the child might enter adulthood unprepared.

What is an example of permissive parenting style?

When it comes to food, permissive parents might have lax rules. They allow the children to choose what they want, even if that means the parents make a special meal. This could lead to picky eating and unhealthy diet choices. Permissive parenting is associated with lower fruit and vegetable intake. It may also result in inexperience in trying new things or going with the flow and difficulty in social settings involving food.

Authoritarian parenting style

Authoritarian parenting uses strict rules, high standards and punishment to regulate the child’s behavior. Authoritarian parents have high expectations and are not flexible on them. The children might not even know a rule is in place until they’re punished for breaking it.

Children of authoritarian parents are good at following instructions and behave well. However, these children might grow up with a fear of punishment and lack experience making their own decisions. As a result, some might become aggressively rebellious, lack social skills and may have difficulty making sound decisions on their own.

What is an example of authoritarian parenting style? 

At mealtimes, authoritarian parents might enforce rules, such as the children eat the same meal as everyone else or finish everything on their plate. However, the family is unlikely to discuss why they eat certain foods and how they fit into their culture or affect a child’s health.

Neglectful parenting style

Neglectful parents fulfill the child’s basic needs, but then pay little attention to the child. These parents tend to offer minimal nurturing and have few expectations or limitations for their child. It’s not always a conscious choice parents make, but can be forced by circumstance, such as the need to work late shifts, single parenting, mental health concerns or overall family troubles.

Children of neglectful parents usually grow up to be resilient and self-sufficient out of necessity. They might have trouble controlling emotions, don’t develop effective coping strategies and they have difficulty maintaining social relationships. They tend to have low self-esteem and might seek out inappropriate role models.

What is an example of neglectful parenting style?

Parents who are uninvolved might not buy groceries or plan meals consistently. That could leave the child concerned about when they will next eat. It can lead them to become preoccupied with food. Children who had neglectful parents often overeat when food is available and may become overweight. But these children often have an easier time leaving home when it’s time.

How do I make sure I don’t mess up my child?

There’s no parenting style that is guaranteed to produce perfectly adjusted children. Nobody’s child is going to go through life universally liked and immune to failure or disappointment. Mulholland says everyone experiences difficulties. “It’s just unrealistic to say that a parenting decision is the reason for that.”

Since children will inevitably go through difficult moments, it’s best to equip them with the ability to bounce back. It helps if kids have had some practice from being allowed to try and fail in a safe environment.

For example, if a child played video games instead of studying, they might do poorly on the test. That’s how they learn that they need to manage their time better. But if you let them stay home “sick” to get an extra day to study, they won’t have learned a lesson.

A lot of parents see their child’s successes or failures as a reflection of themselves as a parent. But it’s the parent’s job to give the child the tools they need, not to control the situation.

“I’m always reminding parents that those aren’t your grades,” Mulholland says. “That’s not your college that they end up going to. That’s on them. You shouldn’t measure your worth as a parent on how successful your children are.”

How can parents change their parenting style?

If you find that your child is having some behavior issues, you might decide you need to adjust your parenting style. Behavior change can be as difficult for parents as it is for kids.

Mulholland recommends thinking back to your own childhood and what worked for you and what didn’t. Some people had parents who were very strict. The child wasn’t allowed to talk at the table and was punished severely. As a result, when they became a parent, they went the other way and became permissive. But perhaps a middle ground would work better. As you reflect on your own parenting, think about why you react the way you do.

If you want to change your parenting style, look into parenting workshops. Many schools or early childhood centers offer classes or can refer you to one. Mulholland also recommends the book, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk . A mental health therapist can also help you work through issues from your own childhood and find a parenting approach that will work for your family.

Which parenting style is most encouraged?

Authoritative parenting is the most recommended parenting style . The combination of clear communication and age-appropriate standards can lead to emotionally stable adults who can handle themselves in social situations and set goals for themselves.

To take an authoritative approach, parents can:

• Set clear boundaries and communicate them to children.
• Offer children choices and have discussions about what’s appropriate. For example, you can choose which pajamas you want to wear to bed. You cannot wear your winter coat to bed because it will be too warm.
• Listen to and explore their children’s emotional health concerns.
• Frequently express love and affection.

A helpful approach can be to use praise and positive reinforcement to encourage desired behavior. Ignore annoying, but not dangerous, attempts at getting attention, such as banging on a wall or whining. You also can tell children, “I’ll wait and respond to you when you stop whining.”

Another approach is to reward children with something they want. For example, instead of taking away their tablet until they do their homework, use it as a reward. “I’m going to give you your tablet as soon as you’re done with your homework.” That way the tablet is a reinforcer instead of a consequence.

How to set limits for children

A big part of parenting is setting rules and limits for your children. A metaphor from Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D. , suggests thinking of parenting like enclosing a pasture for your sheep. You build a fence and put things the sheep need in the pasture — plus some fun things to play with. Then let the sheep roam around within their limits.

“You don’t tell the sheep ‘You need to only be in this corner.’ Or ‘You need to only eat that type of flower,'” Mulholland explains. “They’re likely to run into the good flowers and eat the good stuff. But you’re also going to have the fence around them. So there’s a limit as to how far they can go.”

The same with children. As the parents, you set the limits and provide children with food to eat and toys to play with. As the children show they’re being responsible and can handle more, you can expand their boundaries.

Setting limits together

As much as you can, decide with your child what your limits are ahead of time. For example, before the start of a new school year, decide on your limits for weekday screen time, after-school snacks or homework rules.

If you’re trying to make rules on the fly, you’re more likely to be inconsistent from day to day. If you decide that the kids get 90 minutes of screen time on a school night, then you can always hold to that, and the kids know what to expect.

If you have a spouse or co-parent, discuss limits together. It’s common for two parents to have different ideas of what’s appropriate, so it’s helpful to set the boundaries together. And whether you live in the same house or not, try to maintain the same basic limits.

“The most important thing is — in front of the child — you 100% have your partner’s back, even if you disagree wholeheartedly with how they approached it. In front of the child, you have to have their back,” Mulholland says. “In the moment you say, ‘Yep. Dad said eat your broccoli. ‘” If you would have done things differently, talk to your partner about it away from the kids.

Your relationship with a grown child

Parenting style also plays a role in the relationship between parents and their children when they become adults. Kids who had strict, inflexible parents might not have a close relationship as adults. Kids of permissive parents might come back for help frequently when they are in a bind. Kids who grew up with encouraging, supportive parents tend to have close relationships with their parents. They will be independent, but still go to their parents for advice.

“The best-case scenario is they’re still keeping you involved in their life,” Mulholland says. “They’re telling you about the hardships and maybe even seeking advice, but they’re also not expecting you to fix everything.”

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Parenting Styles: A Closer Look at a Well-Known Concept

Sofie kuppens.

1 Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

2 Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Eva Ceulemans

3 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

Although parenting styles constitute a well-known concept in parenting research, two issues have largely been overlooked in existing studies. In particular, the psychological control dimension has rarely been explicitly modelled and there is limited insight into joint parenting styles that simultaneously characterize maternal and paternal practices and their impact on child development. Using data from a sample of 600 Flemish families raising an 8-to-10 year old child, we identified naturally occurring joint parenting styles. A cluster analysis based on two parenting dimensions (parental support and behavioral control) revealed four congruent parenting styles: an authoritative, positive authoritative, authoritarian and uninvolved parenting style. A subsequent cluster analysis comprising three parenting dimensions (parental support, behavioral and psychological control) yielded similar cluster profiles for the congruent (positive) authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles, while the fourth parenting style was relabeled as a congruent intrusive parenting style. ANOVAs demonstrated that having (positive) authoritative parents associated with the most favorable outcomes, while having authoritarian parents coincided with the least favorable outcomes. Although less pronounced than for the authoritarian style, having intrusive parents also associated with poorer child outcomes. Results demonstrated that accounting for parental psychological control did not yield additional parenting styles, but enhanced our understanding of the pattern among the three parenting dimensions within each parenting style and their association with child outcomes. More similarities than dissimilarities in the parenting of both parents emerged, although adding psychological control slightly enlarged the differences between the scores of mothers and fathers.

Parenting has gained ample research attention from various scientific disciplines. Many theoretical frameworks emphasize that parenting plays a vital role in child development, which has fueled research investigating the impact of parenting on child development for over 75 years. When studying parenting, researchers can take various strategies by considering parenting practices, parenting dimensions or parenting styles. Parenting practices can be defined as directly observable specific behaviors that parents use to socialize their children (Darling and Steinberg 1993 ). For example, parenting practices intended to promote academic achievement are showing involvement by attending parent–teacher meetings or regular supervision of children’s homework. Other parenting practices pertain to positive reinforcement, discipline, or problem solving.

Rather than focusing on specific parenting practices, other researchers have identified overarching parenting dimensions that reflect similar parenting practices, mostly by modeling the relationships among these parenting practices using factor analytic techniques. There is consensus among scientists about the existence of at least two broad dimensions of parenting, labeled parental support and parental control. Parental support pertains to the affective nature of the parent-child relationship, indicated by showing involvement, acceptance, emotional availability, warmth, and responsivity (Cummings et al. 2000 ). Support has been related to positive development outcomes in children, such as the prevention of alcohol abuse and deviance (Barnes and Farrell 1992 ), depression and delinquency (Bean et al. 2006 ) and externalizing problem behavior (Shaw et al. 1994 ).

The control dimension has been subdivided into psychological and behavioral control (Barber 1996 ; Schaefer 1965 ; Steinberg 1990 ). Parental behavioral control consists of parenting behavior that attempts to control, manage or regulate child behavior, either through enforcing demands and rules, disciplinary strategies, control of rewards and punishment, or through supervisory functions (Barber 2002 ; Maccoby 1990 ; Steinberg 1990 ). An appropriate amount of behavioral control has been considered to positively affect child development, whereas insufficient (e.g., poor parental monitoring) or excessive behavioral control (e.g., parental physical punishment) has been commonly associated with negative child developmental outcomes, such as deviant behavior, misconduct, depression and anxious affect (e.g., Barnes and Farrell 1992 ; Coie and Dodge 1998 ; Galambos et al. 2003 ; Patterson et al. 1984 ). While parental behavioral control refers to control over the child’s behavior, parental psychological control pertains to an intrusive type of control in which parents attempt to manipulate children’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings (Barber 1996 ; Barber et al. 2005 ). Due to its manipulative and intrusive nature, psychological control has almost exclusively been associated with negative developmental outcomes in children and adolescents, such as depression, antisocial behaviour and relational regression (e.g., Barber and Harmon 2002 ; Barber et al. 2005 ; Kuppens et al. 2013 ). The three parenting dimensions (support, psychological control, and behavioral control) have been labelled conceptually distinct, although they are related to some extent (Barber et al. 2005 ; Soenens et al. 2012 ).

Other authors have taken yet a different approach to studying parenting by emphasizing that specific combinations of parenting practices within a parent particularly impact child development rather than separate parenting practices or dimensions (e.g., Baumrind 1991 ; Maccoby and Martin 1983 ). Within such a configurational approach, one examines which patterns of parenting practices occur within the same parent and how these patterns—commonly labelled as parenting styles— are related to children’s development. Such parenting styles have the clear advantage of accounting for different parenting practices at the same time within the same person. As such, it comprises a person–centered approach that focuses on configurations within individuals rather than a variable–centered approach that focuses on relationships among variables across individuals as has been used to identify parenting dimensions (Magnusson 1998 ).

Baumrind ( 1966 , 1967 , 1971 ) is commonly considered a pioneer of research into parenting styles. She introduced a typology with three parenting styles to describe differences in normal parenting behaviors: the authoritarian, authoritative and permissive parenting style. Baumrind ( 1971 ) suggested that authoritarian parents try to shape, control, and evaluate their children’s behavior based on the absolute set of standards; whereas permissive parents are warmer and more autonomy granting than controlling. She considered an authoritative parenting style to fall between those two extremes. Later on in the 1980s, Maccoby and Martin ( 1983 ) attempted to bridge Baumrind’s typology and parenting dimensions. Based on the combination of two dimensions – demandingness and responsiveness – they defined four parenting styles: authoritative (i.e., high demandingness and high responsiveness); authoritarian (i.e., high demandingness and low responsiveness); indulgent (i.e., low demandingness and high responsiveness); and neglectful (i.e., low demandingness and low responsiveness). These two parenting dimensions are similar, yet not identical to the dimensions ‘parental support’ and ‘parental behavioral control’. Based on Maccoby and Martin’s work, Baumrind ( 1989 , 1991 ) expanded her typology with a fourth parenting style, namely the ‘neglectful’ parenting style.

Maccoby and Martin ( 1983 ) research efforts primarily focused on the configuration of the parenting styles and to a lesser extent on their association with children’s development. Baumrind, in contrast, has also extensively studied the association between parenting styles and child development (1967, 1971, 1989, 1991). This work consistently demonstrated that youth of authoritative parents had the most favorable development outcomes; authoritarian and permissive parenting were associated with negative developmental outcomes; while outcomes for children of neglectful parents were poorest. These aforementioned associations have also been replicated by other researchers. An authoritative parenting style has consistently been associated with positive developmental outcomes in youth, such as psychosocial competence (e.g., maturation, resilience, optimism, self-reliance, social competence, self-esteem) and academic achievement (e.g., Baumrind 1991 ; Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ). Findings regarding permissive/indulgent parenting have been inconsistent yielding associations with internalizing (i.e., anxiety, depression, withdrawn behavior, somatic complaints) and externalizing problem behavior (i.e., school misconduct, delinquency), but also with social skills, self–confidence, self–understanding and active problem coping (e.g., Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ; Williams et al. 2009 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ). An authoritarian parenting style has consistently been associated with negative developmental outcomes, such as aggression, delinquent behaviors, somatic complaints, depersonalisation and anxiety (e.g., Hoeve et al. 2008 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ; Williams et al. 2009 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ). Children of neglectful parents have shown the least favorable outcomes on multiple domains, such as lacking self-regulation and social responsibility, poor self-reliance and social competence, poor school competence, antisocial behavior and delinquency, anxiety, depression and somatic complaints (e.g., Baumrind 1991 ; Hoeve et al. 2008 ; Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ).

Baumrind’s typology (1966) was initially determined on theoretical grounds, although with time she did conduct empirical validation research (1967, 1971, 1989, 1991). Nonetheless, the empirical studies always started with parenting styles that were predefined in a prototypical score profile in terms of minimum or maximum limit scores (e.g., scores above or below the median) on the different parenting practices; thus parents were first classified using cut–off scores for these predefined parenting styles and afterwards associations with child developmental outcomes were examined. However, such a confirmatory approach is not preferred to investigate parenting styles types (Mandara 2003 ) as it does not allow the identification of the naturally occurring typology, because people are actually forced into some predefined category defined on theoretical grounds. To empirically identify typologies in a certain population an exploratory clustering approach is needed (Everitt et al. 2001 ; Mandara 2003 ). Such clustering methods entail that persons are assessed on different variables (e.g., parenting practices) and patterns that naturally occur in the data are identified. Persons with a similar score profile are classified in the same cluster and those with distinctly different profile scores are classified into other clusters; with the number of clusters and associated score profiles being unknown a priori. The literature shows that researchers started to adopt such clustering methods in research into parenting styles about 15 to 20 years ago (Aunola et al. 2000 ; Beato et al. 2016 ; Brenner andand Fox 1999 ; Carlson and Tanner 2006 ; Chaudhuri et al. 2009 ; Dwairy et al. 2006 ; Gorman-Smith et al. 2000 ; Heberle et al. 2015 ; Hoeve et al. 2008 ; Lee et al. 2006 ; Mandara and Murray 2002 ; Martin et al. 2007 ; McGroder 2000 ; McKinney and Renk 2008 ; Meteyer and Perry-Jenkins 2009 ; Metsäpelto and Pulkkinen 2003 ; Pereira et al. 2008 ; Russell et al. 1998 ; Shucksmith et al. 1995 ; Tam and Lam 2004 ; van der Horst and Sleddens 2017 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ). These studies have generally identified three or four parenting styles that resemble the initial theoretical parenting styles.

Although Baumrind’s typology has greatly influenced parenting research, two issues have largely been overlooked in the existing knowledge. A first issue relates to the psychological control dimension which is currently considered the third parenting dimension. Initially, Baumrind paid little attention to the role of psychological control because her control dimension solely referred to parental socializing practices aimed at integrating the child in the family and society (Darling and Steinberg 1993 ). In her later work (1971, 1989, 1991), Baumrind did incorporate aspects of psychological control but the confirmatory nature of that research (cf. using predefined clusters) makes it impossible to determine which parenting styles would naturally evolve when psychological control would be taken into account. Empirical studies have also rarely explicitly included parental psychological control when modeling parenting styles. So far, the limited research including psychological control indices (e.g., Pereira et al. 2008 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ) has mostly identified four parenting styles that match the theoretically distinct styles. Within these parenting styles psychological control coincided with behavioral control levels in the authoritarian parenting style, yet cumulative knowledge remains too limited to draw firm conclusions.

A second issue is that existing research provides little insight into the coexistence of maternal and paternal parenting styles and their joint impact on child development. Although Baumrind included both parents in her studies, she assigned a (pre-defined) parenting style to each one separately. In some studies (1991), data was limited to mothers if both parents were assigned a different parenting style; in others (1971) families were entirely excluded in such instances. Not only Baumrind, but research on parenting styles in general has paid less attention to the impact of joint parenting styles on child development (Martin et al. 2007 ; McKinney and Renk 2008 ; Simons and Conger 2007 ), but has mainly focused on the unique, differential or interaction effects of maternal and paternal parenting styles adopting a variable-oriented perspective (e.g., Beato et al. 2016 ; Miranda et al. 2016 ). Children in two-parent households are influenced by the combined practices of both parents (Martin et al. 2007 ); and some studies have clearly shown that mothers and fathers can differ in their parenting style (Conrade and Ho 2001 ; McKinney and Renk 2008 ; Russell et al. 1998 ). Considering how the parenting styles of both parents cluster together, therefore, aligns more closely with the real experiences of children growing up in two-parent households. Only such an approach can shed light onto possible additive and compensatory effects (Martin et al. 2007 ). For example, Simons and Conger ( 2007 ) found evidence for an additive effect as having two authoritative parents was associated with the most favorable outcomes in adolescents, as well as a compensatory effect where one parent’s authoritative parenting style generally buffered the less effective parenting style of the other parent. Similarly, McKinney and Renk ( 2008 ) suggested that in late adolescence perceiving one parent as authoritative while the other parent has a different parenting style, partly buffered for emotional adjustment problems.

Only two studies have simultaneously clustered maternal and paternal practices into joint parenting styles and examined how they are associated with child development (for other approaches, see Martin et al. 2007 ; Simons and Conger 2007 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ). Meteyer and Perry-Jenkins ( 2009 ) modeled the warmth and dysfunctional discipline practices of both parents resulting in three parenting styles that aligned with Baumrind’s typology, namely supportive parents (i.e., similar to Baumrind’s authoritative style), mixed–supportive parents (i.e., mother’s parenting style is similar to Baumrind’s ‘good enough parenting’–style and father’s to Baumrind’s authoritarian style) and non–supportive parents (i.e., similar to Baumrinds’ authoritarian style). Although insightful, this study did not incorporate aspects of psychological control; was limited to early elementary school children (6– to 7– year olds); and was based on a rather small sample size (85 families). McKinney and Renk ( 2008 ) identified four joint parenting styles in their cluster analyses using late adolescents’ (18–22 years) reports of authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting: congruent authoritative (i.e., an authoritative parenting style by both parents), congruent authoritarian (i.e., an authoritarian parenting style by both parents), an authoritarian father–authoritative mother combination, and a permissive father–authoritarian mother combination. This study used ratings of parenting styles as input for cluster analysis leaving the role of separate parenting dimensions unclear.

We aimed to extend the existing research on the well-known parenting styles concept by identifying joint parenting styles in an exploratory manner using data on three major parenting dimensions (i.e., support, behavioral control and psychological control) and their associations with child behavioral outcomes in a large sample of mothers and fathers raising elementary school children. In particular, we first examined whether the configuration of exploratory identified parenting styles differed when the – often neglected – psychological control dimension was considered in addition to the support and behavioral control dimensions. Secondly, we identified how parenting practices of mothers and fathers clustered together into joint parenting styles. We were particularly interested in exploring whether similarity or dissimilarity would depict the joint parenting styles. Incongruence could be expected from attachment or gender theories that particularly stress differences between parents’ roles, while assortative or socialization processes could result in highly congruent parenting styles. Thirdly, we associated these joint parenting styles to child behavioral outcomes. For incongruent parenting styles, we particularly examined whether the different parenting styles may buffer each other’s impact on child outcomes. For congruent parenting styles, we looked at additive effects in which parents’ (very) similar styles may reinforce each other’s impact on child outcomes.

Participants

Participants were 600 Flemish families with an elementary-school child (301 boys; 299 girls). The children’s age ranged from 8 to 10 years ( M =  9.27, SD  = 0.83). For 556 children both parents participated, while for the remaining children only the mother ( n  = 40) or father ( n  = 4) took part in the study. The participating mothers and fathers were on average 38.09 ( SD  = 4.00) and 40.39 years old ( SD  = 4.85), respectively. Most parents received 12 to 15 years of education. The vast majority of children (92%) were of Belgian origin (i.e., children and both parents born in Belgium). The remaining children mostly originated from another European country ( n =  28); a limited number had an African ( n  = 7), US ( n  = 4), Middle East ( n =  1), Asian ( n =  1) or unknown origin ( n  = 7). Most children (84%) lived in traditional two-parent families with married biological parents; others belonged to a blended family (5%), a household with shared custody (2%), or a single-parent household (9%). In this study, we focused on the subsample of families for which both parents consented to participate. Of the initial 556 families, data were available for a final sample of 527 families due to some non-response.

We used data on parenting collected in a Flemish large-scale study on social determinants of child psychosocial functioning including three cohorts: 8–, 9– and 10– year olds. To safeguard representativeness, a two-stage proportional stratified random sample of elementary school children enrolled in mainstream Flemish schools was drawn. In a first stage, 195 Flemish schools were randomly selected taking into account the distribution of schools across the five Flemish provinces and the Brussels region of which 55 schools agreed to participate. In a second stage, 913 children (2nd to 4th grade) were randomly selected within the participating schools. Parents received an introductory letter and consent form via the teachers. Informed consent to participate in the study was obtained for 600 families with both parents participating for 556 children. We used information on parenting practices collected from both parents. The parents received their questionnaires via the teacher during the second trimester and were asked to complete them individually and independently of each other. Given that 583 mothers (98%), and 538 fathers (96%) actually completed the questionnaire, non-response was fairly low.

Parental behavioral control

Parental behavioral control was operationalized via 19 items of the subscales Rules (8 items; α mother  = 0.79; α father  = 0.82)), Discipline (6 items; α mother  = 0.78; α father  = 0.80) and Harsh Punishment (5 items; α mother  = 0.76; α father  = 0.80) of the Ghent Parental Behavior Scale (Van Leeuwen and Vermulst 2004 ). Each item was scored on a 5–point Likert scale from 1 = never true to 5 = always true. The subscale Rules reflects the extent to which parents provide rules for their children’s behavior (e.g., “I teach my child that it is important to behave properly”; “I teach my child to obey rules”). The subscale Discipline pertains to effective punishments after unwanted behavior (e.g., ‘…taking away something nice’; ‘… give him/her a chore for punishment); whereas the subscale Harsh Punishment points towards parental physical punishment when children misbehave (e.g., “I slap my child in the face when he/she misbehaves”; “I spank my child when he/she doesn’t obey rules”; “I shake my child when we have a fight”). We included multiple subscales to represent the multidimensional nature of the behavioral control dimension, as demonstrated by others (Van Leeuwen and Vermulst 2004 ). In addition, we consider aspects of adequate (i.e., subscales Rules and Discipline) and inadequate behavioral control (i.e., subscale Harsh Punishment) in this study, given the differential association with child outcomes. While the first has been linked to positive child development, the latter has commonly been associated with negative child outcomes. Correlations between maternal and paternal reports were moderate for the subscales Rules ( r  = .31; p <  .001) and Discipline ( r  = 0.47; p <  0.001), but strong for the subscale Harsh Punishment ( r  = 0.52; p <  0.001). Within each parent, weak-to-moderate positive correlations were found between the subscales Rules and Discipline ( r mother  = 0.32; r father  = 0.26; p <  0.001); weak positive correlations between the subscales Discipline and Harsh Punishment ( r mother  = 0.22; r father  = 0.22; p <  0.001); and small negative correlations between the subscales Rules and Harsh Punishment ( r mother  = −0.14, p  = 0.009; r father  = −0.11; p =  0.001).

Parental support

Parental support was operationalized by 11 items (1 = never true to 5 = always true) of the subscale Positive Parenting of the Ghent Parental Behavior Scale (Van Leeuwen and Vermulst 2004 ). This subscale (α mother  = 0.85; α father  = 0.88) pertains to parental involvement, positive reinforcement and problem solving (e.g., “I make time to listen to my child, when he/she wants to tell me something”; “I give my child a compliment, hug, or a tap on the shoulder as a reward for good behavior”). Maternal and paternal reports were moderately correlated ( r  = 0.35, p <  0.001).

Parental psychological control

Parents assessed their own psychologically controlling behavior by means of a Dutch version of the Psychological Control Scale (Barber 1996 ; Kuppens et al. 2009a ) via a 5–point Likert scale from 1 = never true to 5 = always true. This scale (α mother  = 0.70; α father =  0.71) included 8 items pertaining to invalidating feelings, constraining verbal expressions, personal attack, and love withdrawal (e.g., “I am less friendly with my child when (s)he doesn’t see things my way”; “If my child has hurt my feelings, I don’t speak to him/her until (s)he pleases me again”; “I change the subject when my child has something to say”). Correlations between maternal and paternal reports were moderate ( r  = 0.32, p <  0.001).

Child behavioral outcomes

Both parents completed the 20-item Dutch Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; van Widenfelt et al. 2003 ) using a 3–point scale in order to assess child psychosocial behavior (0 = not true to 2 = certainly true). Externalizing problems were operationalized via the subscales Conduct Problems (5 items; α mother  = .60; α father  = 0.61) and Hyperactivity (5 items; α mother =  0.80; α father  = 0.76), while internalizing problems were reflected by the subscale Emotional Symptoms (5 items; α mother =  0.73; α father  = 0.72). We also included the subscale on Prosocial Behavior (5 items; α mother =  0.67; α father  = 0.64). Because high correlations ( r =  0.54–0.71; p <  0.001) between mother and father reports was obtained, an average parental score was created for each subscale.

Data Analyses

To identify joint parenting styles, we conducted cluster analysis in MATLAB. Cluster analysis is an overarching term for procedures used to identify groups or clusters of individuals based on their scores on a number of variables (Everitt et al. 2001 ). Greater similarity emerges between individuals of the same cluster (or who lie geometrically closer according to some distance measure) than between individuals from different clusters (Steinly and Brusco 2011 ). We first ran a cluster analysis based on the four parenting subscales of mothers and fathers (i.e., eight variables as input) that reflect parental support and parental behavioral control to identify joint parenting styles based on these two parenting dimensions (i.e., without considering parental psychological control). To gain insight into the role of parental psychological control in identifying joint parenting styles, we subsequently conducted a cluster analysis on all five parenting subscales of mothers and fathers (i.e., ten variables as input) representing the three parenting dimensions.

We used the conceptual framework of Milligan for a stepwise implementation of cluster analysis (Steinly & Brusco 2011 ) by (1) determining the observations to be clustered; (2) selecting the variables to be included in the clustering procedure; (3) determining whether and how the selected variables should be standardized; (4) selecting a cluster algorithm and association measure (e.g., a distance measure); (5) determining the number of clusters; and (6) validating clustering (i.e., interpretation, testing, and replication). During steps 1 through 3, we performed analyses on the sum scores of the different parenting subscales which were standardized to give each variable equal weight in the analysis. In step 4, we chose Mac Queens K–means cluster algorithm which aims to identify K –clusters with the largest possible between–cluster differences and the smallest possible within–cluster differences (Everitt et al. 2001 ), while the value of K is specified by the user. K-means consists of a reallocation procedure by which persons, starting from an initial random or rational clustering, are reallocated in clusters as long as this yields a decrease in the loss function (i.e., sum of squared Euclidean distance from the corresponding cluster mean). Because the resulting clustering strongly depends on the initial clustering (Steinley 2003 ), we used 1000 random starts and retained the clustering with the lowest loss function value. To determine the optimal number of clusters in step 5, or in other words to define the value of K , we used the CHull procedure (Ceulemans and Kiers 2006 ; Wilderjans et al. 2013 ). CHull is an automated model selection procedure that scans a complexity versus fit plot to find the model with the best complexity versus fit balance. Applied to K-means clustering, this means that we look for the model after which allowing for additional clusters does not substantially decrease the loss function. To interpret the resulting clusters (step 6), we visually inspected the pattern emerging in the cluster profile plots. When comparing the cluster-specific profile scores between parents, we focused on the position of the corresponding profile scores compared to zero (i.e., the standardized mean of the sample) and differences in its substantial interpretation. For example, the terms above and below average mean that a parent scores higher or lower than the standardized mean of the sample.

To assess the validity of the empirically identified joint parenting styles representing all parenting dimensions, we examined their association with child behavioral outcomes via four analyses of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS Version 23 with the SDQ-subscales as dependent variables and the identified joint parenting styles based on the three parenting dimensions as the independent variable. Analyses of residuals did not reveal meaningful violations of model assumptions.

In the following sections, the empirically identified joint parenting styles based on the four subscales reflecting the two parenting dimensions ‘support’ and ‘behavioral control’ are first presented; followed by the results of analyses also considering ‘parental psychological control’ as input behavior. We end with linking the identified joint parenting styles based on three parenting dimensions to child behavioral outcomes.

Clusters with Two Parenting Dimensions

In a first step, we conducted a K –means cluster analysis on the maternal and paternal ratings only using the four parental support and behavioral support subscales for each parent (i.e., eight variables) as input, representing the two parenting dimensions. The analysis was conducted for 1 to 8 clusters each with a 1000 random starts. The corresponding number of clusters versus loss function plot is shown in Fig. ​ Fig.1. 1 . Applying the CHull procedure to this plot pointed towards a solution with four clusters.

Number of clusters vs. loss function plots for the cluster analyses based on the two parenting dimensions (left) and on the three parenting dimensions (right)

Parents belonging to the first cluster (Fig. ​ (Fig.2) 2 ) scored above average on positive parenting, rules and discipline; and scored below average on harsh punishment. A visual inspection of the cluster plot did not reveal notable differences between mothers and fathers. These parents show warmth and involvement in their interaction with their child, but at the same time set clear rules and expectations for children’s behavior. They also discipline the child’s undesirable behavior, but rarely use strict physical punishment when doing so. Because these parents demonstrate elevated support and (adequate) behavioral control levels, we labeled this parenting style as the congruent authoritative parenting style.

Cluster profiles of the analysis based on two parenting dimensions

Parents belonging to the second cluster (Fig. ​ (Fig.2) 2 ) also scored above average on positive parenting and rules, but clearly below average on effective (subscale Discipline) and harsh disciplining (subscale Harsh Punishment). Based on a visual inspection, levels of positive parenting and providing rules of mothers seemed somewhat higher, while effective discipline was somewhat lower compared to fathers, but the substantive interpretation was similar across parents. These parents show warmth and involvement in their parenting while also setting clear rules for children’s behavior, yet they hardly discipline their child in any manner after showing unwanted behavior. Because these parents showed elevated support levels combined with aspects of behavioral control that focus on promoting desired behavior (instead of discouraging unwanted behavior), we labeled this cluster as the congruent positive authoritative parenting style.

The third cluster (Fig. ​ (Fig.2) 2 ) included parents who scored clearly above average on harsh punishment, above average on discipline, and below average on positive parenting and rules; without any notable visual differences between mothers and fathers. These parents are therefore less warm and involved in the relationship with their child. Their parenting is particularly characterized by strict physical punishment following unwanted behavior, without setting clear rules for their children’s behavior. This cluster reflected the congruent authoritarian parenting style .

A fourth cluster (Fig. ​ (Fig.2) 2 ) was identified that yielded below average scores for both parents on all subscales; without salient visual differences between mothers and fathers. These parents do not show marked warmth and involvement with their child, and also do not prominently provide rules or discipline unwanted behavior. Because these parents demonstrated below average scores on both dimensions, we labeled this cluster as a congruent uninvolved parenting style.

Clusters with Three Parenting Dimensions

In a second step, we performed the same K –means cluster analysis, but now psychological control was included as a third parenting dimension. The analysis was again conducted for 1 to 8 clusters each time using 1000 random starts. Applying the CHull procedure to the number of clusters versus loss function plot (Fig. ​ (Fig.1) 1 ) pointed toward a solution with 2 or 3 clusters. However, to enable comparisons between the cluster solution based on the two parenting dimensions, we again selected the solution with four clusters of which the cluster profiles are visualized in Fig. ​ Fig.3 3 .

Cluster profiles of the analysis based on three parenting dimensions

When comparing both cluster solutions, a remarkable similarity in the cluster profiles was observed with the cluster scores on parental psychological control for the congruent authoritative, congruent positive authoritative and congruent authoritarian parenting styles covarying with scores on harsh punishment. These three clusters could thus be interpreted and labeled in a similar manner as earlier. For the congruent uninvolved parenting styles, the pattern for parental support and behavioral control remained fairly unchanged, but both showed slightly above-average psychological control scores. It seems that these parents are thus less supportive and behavioral controlling, yet showing somewhat elevated levels of psychologically intrusive practices. As such, we relabeled the congruent uninvolved cluster as a congruent intrusive parenting style. Adding the psychological control dimension slightly enlarged the differences between the scores of mothers and fathers within each parenting style, but the substantive interpretation remained similar across parents

Given the substantial similarity in emerging parenting styles after including two or three parenting dimensions, we computed the agreement in classification of the corresponding parents. Analyses revealed that parents were generally assigned to the same parenting style if psychological control was taken into account, (Cramer’s V  = .87). Note that the agreement was substantial regardless of the retained number of clusters (2 clusters: V =  .77; 3 clusters: V =  .86; 5 clusters: V =  .83; 6 clusters: V =  .69; 7 clusters: V =  .68; 8 clusters: V =  .65).

Parenting Styles and Child Behavioral Outcomes

The four joint parenting styles were associated to significantly different behavioral outcomes: Prosocial Behavior [ F (3, 520) = 20.15, p <  0.001, R 2 = 0.10]; Hyperactivity [ F (3, 520) = 12.98, p <  0.001, R 2 =  0.07]; Emotional Symptoms [ F (3, 520) = 3.77, p =  .011, R 2 = 0.02]; and Conduct Problems [ F (3, 520) = 20.15, p <  0.001, R 2 = 0.10]. The mean subscale score per joint parenting style are presented in Fig. ​ Fig.4. 4 . To gain more insight into the nature of the differences, pairwise contrasts (Tukey–Kramer) were computed for each ANOVA.

Mean subscale scores on child behavioral outcomes per parenting style

For each child behavioral outcome, a significant difference ( p  < 0.05) was established between the congruent authoritarian parenting style and at least one other parenting style. Children of authoritarian parents demonstrated more negative (i.e., hyperactivity, conduct problems, emotional symptoms) and less positive (i.e., prosocial behavior) child outcomes compared to children whose parents belonged to another parenting style. For conduct problems, the associated standardized mean difference involving authoritarian parents was most pronounced compared to positive authoritative parents ( d =  1.06, p <  0.001), whereas a medium difference (range d =  0.67 – 0.73, p <  .001) with the authoritative and intrusive parenting styles was found. Similarly, for hyperactivity standardized mean differences involving authoritarian parents were large ( d =  0.85, p <  0.001) compared to positive authoritative parents; and medium (range d =  0.60 – 0.63, p <  0.001) compared to authoritative and intrusive parents. Standardized mean differences involving authoritarian parents were large (range d =  0.83–0.93, p <  0.001) for prosocial behavior, but only a small difference ( d =  0.37, p =  0.031) with the intrusive parenting style emerged. Standardized mean differences for emotional symptoms between the authoritarian parenting style were small in magnitude (range d =  0.40 – 0.43, p <  0.05), except for a non-significant ( d =  0.28, p =  0.159) difference with the intrusive parenting style.

In addition, the congruent positive authoritative parenting style yielded significantly lower conduct problem levels in children (range d =  0.33 – 0.39, p <  0.05) compared to authoritative and intrusive parents. In contrast, significantly less prosocial child behavior (range d =  0.46–0.56, p ≤  0.001) was found for the congruent intrusive parenting style compared to (positive) authoritative parents.

With this study, we aimed to add to the parenting styles literature by identifying empirically derived joint parenting styles based on data regarding the three major parenting dimensions as perceived by both mothers and fathers raising elementary school children. These resulting joint parenting styles were subsequently associated with child behavioral outcomes. As highlighted in the introduction, the commonly used parenting typologies have a theoretical underpinning, although empirical studies have generally identified three or four similar parenting styles. Our empirically derived parenting styles based on the two parenting dimensions Support and Behavioral Control bear resemblance to the initial authoritative, authoritarian, and neglectful parenting styles, yet some differences also emerged.

The authoritative parenting style was further broken down into a disciplinary and non-disciplinary subtype. Similarly, although differences between parents within each parenting style were minor, they were more pronounced for the non-disciplinary than for the disciplinary control strategies. These findings highlight that all parenting practices aimed at controlling, managing or regulating child behavior are not necessarily simultaneously used by the same parent, suggesting that considering a variety of parenting practices is crucial to identifying naturally occurring parenting substyles. Some parents seem to provide clear rules, guidelines and expectations for child behavior, but hardly have deviant child behavior followed by an effective disciplinary strategy. One subgroup appears to reflect parents that mostly adopt positive parenting practices (i.e., high support, high rule setting), whereas another subgroup uses a combination of positive (i.e., high support, high rule setting) and negative (i.e., high effective discipline) parenting practices. The latter closely resembles the authoritative parenting style as originally defined (Baumrind 1966 , 1967 , 1971 ), while the former clustering aligns more with a second–order positive dimension obtained in research adopting a variable–oriented approach (Van Leeuwen et al. 2004 ).

In this study, the positive dimension tapped into parenting practices such as parental involvement, positive reinforcement, rule setting, and autonomy–stimulating behavior, while the negative dimensions pertained to negatively controlling efforts such as effective discipline, ignoring or harsh punishment following children’s unwanted behavior. In the uninvolved parenting style, parenting practices bear a resemblance to the neglectful parenting style given the below average scores on all subscales suggesting that parents show less warmth, place fewer restraints on and display little monitoring of children’s behavior. However, we did not identify extreme low scores on parenting dimensions that would suggest a truly neglectful parenting style as originally defined; thus an uninvolved parenting style seems a more appropriate label. Although parent self-reports could overestimate scores of positive parenting and underestimate scores of negative parenting due to social desirability bias, it should be noted that a previous study using adolescent reports also did not find extreme scores for the parenting style clusters (McKinney and Renk 2008 ).

We were not able to empirically identify the originally proposed permissive parenting style reflecting parents that are very loving, warm and involved (high support), yet have relatively few rules for children’s behavior and hardly discipline (low behavioral control). This finding diverges from some previous empirical studies in which the latter parenting style did emerge using an a theoretical (Aunola et al. 2000 ; Carlson and Tanner 2006 ; Shucksmith et al. 1995 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ) or empirical clustering approach (McKinney and Renk 2008 ). Our operationalization of the support dimension via the positive parenting subscale of the Ghent Parental Behavior Scale could underlie this divergent finding, because the subscale does not only pertain to warm and responsive parenting practices, but also includes items on problem solving. In contrast to other studies tapping only into warmth and responsiveness, lower scores on solving problems together with the child can attenuate overall scores on parental support. As a result, the pronounced scores on parental support which typify a permissive parenting style may have been somewhat masked in the present study. Alternatively, the parent self-reports may not accurately reflect their actual parenting practices due to a social desirability bias, hampering the identification of the permissive parenting style.

Regarding the role of psychological control in empirically deriving parenting styles, cluster analyses revealed a very similar configuration with four parenting styles when parental psychological control was taken into account. Thus, its addition did not lead to the identification of additional parenting styles, but the third parenting dimension did enhance our understanding. Results clearly pointed toward a substantial overlap between parental psychological control and parental harsh punishment for the congruent authoritarian, authoritative and positive authoritative parenting styles. This finding coincides with research suggesting that inadequate behavior control (e.g., physical punishment) and psychological control by parents are correlated, whereas parental psychological control and adequate behavioral control are considered orthogonal dimensions (Barber 1996 ; Gray andand Steinberg 1999 ; Steinberg 1990 ). For example, Pettit et al. ( 2001 ) found that parental psychological control was preceded in adolescence by harsh, restrictive disciplinary parenting during childhood. Barber and Harmon ( 2002 ) have further argued that parental psychological control may be a marker of a hostile and dysfunctional parent – child relationship, including the use of harsh disciplinary parenting practices.

For the congruent uninvolved parenting style, including parental psychological control actually led to an improved understanding of the previously considered uninvolved parents. As it turned out these parents did use psychologically controlling strategies to some extent, regardless of their lower levels on the other parenting dimension. This pattern could mean that in the parents–child relationship these parents are not so much concerned with the child and their behavior, but with manipulating children’s thoughts, emotions, and feelings to fit their own. It is commonly recognized that by using psychologically controlling strategies, parents intrude into children’s ‘psychological world’, exert parental authority over the children’s own life, and intervene in the individuation process (Barber and Xia 2013 ; Steinberg 2005 ). A recent study by Zhang et al. ( 2015 ) also demonstrated that parental psychological control indeed positively correlated with parent–centered intentions, implying that parents intend to satisfy their own needs by applying controlling behaviors with their children.

Several theories point towards differences in parenting between mother and father (McKinney and Renk 2008 ). For example, psychoanalytic theory argues that mothers are children’s primary attachment figure whereas a greater distance between fathers and their children occurs; the gender and role theory link differences in child rearing to male and female characteristics (e.g., expressiveness and instrumentality) with the traditional mother role as caring figures and fathers taking on the role of authority figure and family provider. The literature also indicates that differences in parenting between mothers and fathers may arise if one parent wants to compensate for the other parent (Meteyer and Perry-Jenkins 2009 ; Simons and Conger 2007 ). Nonetheless, our results revealed more similarities than dissimilarities in the parenting styles of both parents, despite small-to-moderate correlations between mother and father reports. These similarities may reflect an assortative process when choosing a partner, meaning that people tend to look for a partner with similar characteristics (Botwin et al. 1997 ; Buss 1984 , 1985 ; Larsen and Buss 2010 ). Similarity in parenting could also result from socialization processes (Simons and Conger 2007 ); through a process of mutual influence or reciprocity partners gradually form similar views and beliefs on parenting. The slight differences that emerged pertained particularly to a dissimilar position on positive parenting and rule setting. Although less pronounced, this finding aligns with the study by Meteyer and Perry-Jenkins ( 2009 ) that yielded congruent parenting styles for mothers and fathers of 7-year old children, except for a dissimilar position on self-reported parental warmth. Another study using adolescent reports of parenting (McKinney and Renk 2008 ) found more pronounced sex differences. Perhaps sex differences in parenting styles become more apparent as children grow older or when children’s perspectives are considered.

Results on associations between the joint parenting styles and child behavioral outcomes indicated that children of two authoritarian parents showed the poorest behavioral outcomes. These children were perceived as showing significantly more internalizing and externalizing problem behavior and less prosocial behavior compared to children of parents adopting other parenting styles. In contrast, children of two positive authoritative parents demonstrated the lowest levels of conduct problems. These findings could suggest an additive effect in which the impact of similar parenting styles is reinforced as having two authoritarian and two positive authoritative parents was associated with the least and most favorable child behavioral outcomes, respectively.

The obtained associations between parenting styles and child behavioral outcomes partially align with previous research. Firstly, it has repeatedly been demonstrated that an authoritative parenting style coincides most with positive developmental outcomes in children (e.g., Aunola et al. 2000 ; Baumrind 1967 , 1971 , 1989 , 1991 , Darling and Steinberg 1993 ; Dornbusch et al. 1987 ; Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Querido et al. 2002 ; Shucksmith et al. 1995 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ; Steinberg et al. 1992 ). Our findings confirm this pattern for the children having parents who employ an authoritative parenting style, but children with parents both using a positive authoritative parenting style even showed less conduct problems. This finding could point towards the value of rule setting – in contrast to disciplinary strategies – in preventing behavioral problems. However, as parenting is a reciprocal process with children and parents mutually influencing each other, it is equally likely that parents show less disciplinary strategies simply because their children pose fewer behavior problems as demonstrated by others (Kerr et al. 2012 ; Kuppens et al. 2009b ; Laird et al. 2003 ).

Secondly, previous research has repeatedly linked an authoritarian parenting style with externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in children (e.g., Hoeve et al. 2008 ; Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ; Williams et al. 2009 ; Wolfradt et al. 2003 ). The present findings extend this body of research, although the association was most pronounced for externalizing behavior problems which may be due to children’s age (8 to 10 year olds). In younger children, having authoritarian parents may be more strongly associated with externalizing problem behavior, whereas the association with internalizing problems only emerges as children grow older. The shift in the nature of behavior problems as children age has been linked to the physical, cognitive and social maturation of children and the associated changes in social demands and expectations.

Thirdly, the neglectful parenting style has been associated with the poorest developmental outcomes in children (Baumrind 1991 ; Lamborn et al. 1991 ; Mandara and Murray 2002 ; Shucksmith et al. 1995 ; Steinberg et al. 1994 ). As this parenting style did not emerge in the present study, we were not able to model its association with child outcomes. Even children having parents who were less involved, but intrusive, were doing better than children having authoritarian parents. Findings did reveal that prosocial behavior and conduct problems were significantly lower for children having parents who adopted an intrusive parenting style compared to children of (positive) authoritarian parents. This findings coincides with a growing body of evidence on the deleterious of impact of psychologically controlling parenting in children and adolescents adopting a variable approach (Barber et al. 2005 ; Kuppens et al. 2013 ; Soenens et al. 2012 ), but likewise extends this evidence-base with person-oriented findings on the impact of an intrusive parenting style on child development.

Limitations and Future Research

Although the present study has several merits, it falls short in that only parent self-reports were used to assess parenting and child behavioral outcomes; children’s perspective on their parenting practices may be quite different. For example, Smetana ( 1995 ) found that adolescents perceived their parents as being more permissive and authoritarian compared to parents’ own view on the matter, whereas parents perceived themselves as being more authoritative than their adolescent children. Although a significant convergence between child and parent reports on parenting dimensions has been established in elementary school (Kuppens et al. 2009a ), future research should explicitly take a multiple informant approach when identifying parenting styles as informant perspectives on parenting styles in this age period may differ. In a related vein, multiple informant assessments of child behavioral problems have been shown to be context–specific with differences occurring according to the context (e.g., home, school) that forms the basis for informant’s assessment (Achenbach et al. 1987 ). Involving informants other than parents in the assessment of child behavioral outcomes therefore seems particularly interesting in future research on parenting styles.

Furthermore, inspecting a normally developing sample generally results into a low occurrence of inadequate parenting practices and child behavioral problems. Studying parenting styles in a clinical sample could certainly supplement this view because more variation in parenting practices may yield more or different parenting styles. Hoeve et al. ( 2008 ) have conducted one of the few studies using a sample of children with a high or low risk of antisocial and behavioral problems; and they were able to identify a neglectful parenting style. In addition, the role of parental psychological control in identifying parenting styles may be more pronounced in a clinical sample; an issue that to date remains unresolved.

The present sample closely resembled the population distribution with regard to family composition and paternal educational level, but it was rather homogeneous for ethnicity and mothers were more highly educated. As such, the present findings may not generalize to minority groups or families with less educated mothers; an issue that should be resolved by future studies. For example, previous research has demonstrated that harsh punishment and psychological control are more common among lower SES parents (e.g., Eamon 2001 ; El‐Sheikh et al. 2010 ) and that Caucasian caregivers were more prevalent in an authoritative parenting style cluster (van der Horst and Sleddens 2017 ). The present study clearly complements the scarce body of research on naturally occurring joint parenting styles conducted in US samples, but additional research is needed to replicate these findings. Moreover, as parenting occurs within a cultural belief system that influences attitudes towards particular parenting practices (Durrant et al. 2003 ), cross-cultural research could further clarify the role of culture in identifying naturally occurring (joint) parenting styles incorporating three parenting dimensions. Finally, the cross-sectional associations among joint parenting styles and child outcomes should be complemented by longitudinal research to gain more insight into the directionality of these associations. Longitudinal research covering the entire childhood and adolescence period could also increase our understanding of age-of-child and sex-of parent differences in naturally occurring parenting styles.

Despite these limitations, this study adds to the literature by further empirically validating well-known parenting styles and by increasing our understanding of the role of parental psychological control and joint parenting. The overlap between harsh punishment and parental psychological control in congruent parenting styles and its unique role in the uninvolved parenting style suggests that this intrusive parenting dimension should be routinely considered in practice settings. We also found that adequate behavior controlling practices may be particularly interesting in preventing behavioral problems; and that not only an authoritarian but also a (psychologically) intrusive parenting style can impede upon child development.

Author Contributions

SK: designed and executed the study, conducted part of the data-analysis, and wrote the paper. EC: conducted the cluster analyses, and collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the KU Leuven (University of Leuven) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Parenting Styles: Types, Examples, And Consequences

When you think of how your parent raised you, much of what you remember might be related to their parenting style. Once you become a parent yourself, you develop your style, and this will be a part of what your children will remember, too. Understanding parenting styles and their results can help you become more self-aware and better prepared to be the kind of parent you want to be.

What is a parenting style?

Each parent develops their way of dealing with their child. There are four recognized styles, but because parents often use different parenting styles at various times, each parent has their unique blend of styles. So, what is a style of parenting?

Parenting style: Definition

A style of parenting is a set of strategies you use to raise your child. Researchers have come up with four basic parenting style categories called the Baumrind parenting styles. Each style has its unique characteristics.

Types of parenting styles

The four Baumrind parenting styles are:

Authoritative

Permissive/Indulgent

Uninvolved/Neglectful

Authoritarian/Disciplinarian

Authoritative parenting style

The  authoritative parenting  style is usually considered the most helpful for children in most instances. It is also known as the most effective and  positive parenting  style. When parents are acting in the authoritative style, they focus on nurturing their children. Authoritative parents support their children and respond readily to their needs.

When parents use an authoritative style, they explain things to their children and take the time to listen to them. Authoritative parents reason with their children, although they may not agree with them on all points. Authoritative parents are their children's leaders and guides, as well as the ones who set important rules. The rules they set aren't excessive, but they're clear and consistent.

Authoritative parents expect much of their children, but they allow them to help set their own goals. Rather than pushing their children beyond what they can reasonably do, authoritative parents communicate with them often to help them achieve.

Imagine that a parent would like a child to get involved in after-school activities. If the parent is acting in an authoritative mode, they talk to the child about what kind of activity they would like to do. After listening to the child's opinion, the parent decides whether it is a good option for their child. They tell their child their decision and explain why they chose that option, and make sure that the child genuinely understands. 

The authoritative parent might ask the child how they can help them get started. Authoritative parents make sure the child has what they need for the activity and talks to them frequently about their progress after they begin.

In this example, a teenager has secretly skipped school. The authoritative parent finds out about it and goes to the teen to talk about what happened and why they made that choice. The parent listens to the teen but also explains why they're disappointed and need to set limits.

Earlier in the teen's life, the parent has already let their child know that they always need to go to school unless they have permission to be absent. So, the teen isn't surprised when the parent explains the consequences of their actions. The parent then makes sure the child faces the consequences.

Consequences of authoritative parenting

Children whose parents have mostly used authoritative parenting tend to be healthy and well-adjusted. These children often have the following characteristics:

Independent

Self-controlled

Interested in finding out about their world

Cooperative

Focused on achievement

Permissive or indulgent parenting style

Someone who parents in the permissive style is typically warm and kind to them. However, they don't set limits for them or have any firm expectations for good behavior. They may not know what their child is doing and may not know whether they are displaying maturity appropriate to their age. The parent and the child seem more like friends.

The school year starts, and the child comes home with a form to fill out to choose after-school activities. The permissive parent might look over the sheet and tell the child how fun an activity would be.

However, if the child says they don't want to do any, the parent says it's okay. If they don't want to do it, they don't have to. The parent doesn't try to find out why or talk to the child about why it's a good idea to get involved. The parent drops the subject. 

This is the situation where the teenager skips school. The parent finds out. They might or might not let the teen know that they've discovered they weren't at school. If the parent does ask them about it, they let the child control the conversation. They might tell them what they did was wrong, but even if they do, they don't stand their ground.

A permissive parent doesn't impose punishments or consequences. They don't take any actions to keep the child from skipping again or even show it if they think it's important. A permissive parent tends to want their child to like them, so they don't push.

Consequences of permissive parenting

When a mostly permissive parent raises a child, they don't learn to set their limits. They might act impulsively and show little self-control. At the same time, they may seek to control others. They're typically aimless and don't usually focus on achievement. They're often rebellious.

Uninvolved or neglectful parenting style

People with an uninvolved style of parenting don't respond to their child's needs. They don't make themselves available when their child needs them. They may even seem to reject their child. An uninvolved style of parenting is similar to being neglectful.

If the school sends home information about activities, the uninvolved parent probably won't even look at the sheet. They don't ask the child if they want to do an activity or pay enough attention to notice the child's need to do it.

If the child decides to do the activity, the parent doesn't make sure they have the supplies they need or transportation to get home. Either the child can't keep up, or someone else steps in to provide these things. If someone does take on those parental responsibilities, the child might bond to them and view them as a role model, whether that's a good idea or not.

If the child of an uninvolved parent skips school, the parent typically won't respond at all. The only exception would be if the child's actions had consequences for the parent.

Consequences of uninvolved parenting 

When children have received mostly  neglectful parenting , they tend to think there's something wrong with them. Their self-esteem is low, and they have little self-confidence.

Disciplinarian or authoritarian parenting style

A parent acting in the authoritarian style is a strict disciplinarian. They rarely explain why they make the rules they make, but they expect the child to follow their rules explicitly. They expect their child to do what they want and to do it perfectly. When the child doesn't manage to satisfy them, they punish them.

When the child brings home their list of activities to choose from, the authoritarian parent tells them which one they must do. They don't listen to find out what the child wants. They also set rules about attendance and participation in the activity. They expect the child to excel in the activity, even though they don't nurture them with understanding or support.

If the teenager of an authoritarian parent skips school, the parent immediately goes straight to punishment. They might lecture them about it. Even if they ask them why they skipped, they probably don't want to know. They don't listen or negotiate, regardless of what the teen's reason might be. They aren't interested.

Consequences of authoritarian parenting

Children raised by authoritarian parents tend to be fearful. They usually have low self-esteem. They may be shy and have poor social skills. If the child wants to show someone they love them, their go-to response is obedience. When they're away from the authoritarian parent, they risk them misbehaving in rebellion or never truly expressing themselves.

Using a combined parenting style

As mentioned earlier here, most parents use a combination of styles. This can be helpful to deal with different situations in ways that are appropriate.

For example, if a child could do an afterschool activity, they'll probably have the best outcome if their parent uses an authoritative parenting style, allowing them to have input before the parent makes the final decision. However, in the second scenario, the parent might do the most good for their child by using an authoritarian approach, but with better communication.

Although it can be healthy to use different parenting styles, you must make sure your child knows what to expect from you as much as possible. They need consistent rules and consequences. They also need to be nurtured and supported. It's even okay to indulge your child on rare occasions.

While being a 'helicopter parent' may be harmful, there is little place for uninvolved parenting styles in healthy parenting. Instead, it's best to allow independence when possible, without abandoning or neglecting your child.

What to do if you're concerned about your parenting style

What type of parenting style do you usually use? If you aren't sure, think about how you communicate with and correct your child. You might feel that you could do a better job if you understood parenting better. You might even be worried about what could happen if you continue along on your present course.

Changing to a healthier parenting style might be very helpful for your child and your relationship with them. Making that change is rarely easy. Talking to a therapist can help you learn parenting skills like communication, negotiation, and self-control. When you talk to a licensed counselor at Regain for online therapy, they can help you identify your unique parenting style and refine it to give the child what they need when they need it. You might have been on the wrong track before, but with help, you can parent your child to be a strong, independent, and caring adult.

Understanding parenting style: Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

What are the 4 types of parenting styles.

The four types of parenting styles are:

Authoritarian parenting 

Uninvolved parenting , permissive parenting , authoritative parenting .

Authoritarian parenting, also called disciplinarian style, is a type of parenting that involves setting many rules and demanding perfect adherence to them. The goal is for the parent to be in complete control of their child's behavior (this is a similarity to helicopter parents). With authoritarian parenting, when a child misbehaves, they're punished, and the punishments are often severe. The child is not allowed to question their parents' decisions or make many of their own decision. The parents rule, and the children obey, or they face the consequence that their parents set. Parenting practices of authoritarian parents can often be harsh and feel cold and unloving to the child. 

The uninvolved parenting style, also called neglectful parenting, refers to a parenting style that allows the child to do whatever they want without interference from their parents. They have no one to teach them the best ways to do things, and they often end up being physically hurt because there's no one watching out for them. Their parents don't take care of their needs or teach them what they need to survive when they grow up. The goal of an uninvolved parent is not to be bothered by their children.

The permissive parenting style is similar to uninvolved parenting only because it allows the child to do anything they like. However, in terms of the goal of parenting, the permissive style is different. The permissive parent wants their child to like them, and their parenting reflects that. They set no expectations or limits on their child's behavior at all. In terms of attitude in parenting, permissive parents are happy to do whatever it takes for their child to get what they want at the moment.

Consider all the parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved. Of these, authoritative parents tend to be the most rational. Authoritative parents are the authorities, or experts, on life, but they are not the absolute rulers like authoritarians. Authoritative parents allow their children to have a genuine say, but in the end, they make decisions based on what benefits their child and their family most, both in the short run and in the long-term. Being an authoritative parent means addressing your child's needs and having positive expectations of them. Yet, at the same time, an authoritative parent does set limits. Authoritative parents have rational discussions with their child about the child's goals and needs, listening and explaining so that everyone is on the same page. Read here for more authoritative parenting examples.

Although many experts have described these four parenting styles, another parenting style has been developed in recent years. It's called free-range parenting. Free-range parenting means giving your child freedom to explore their neighborhood, try new things, and have new experiences on their own. The parent's role is to prepare them for these experiences by teaching them the skills they need. Rather than overloading them with tons of structured activities, free-range parents allow their children lots of time for unstructured play. They encourage them to be independent and play outdoors as much as possible. They may have some rules, especially for safety issues, but their main goal is to allow their kids to be kids while developing the skills they need for later life. However, as mentioned above, strong evidence indicates that authoritative parents tend to raise the healthiest, most capable children. 

What is the most effective parenting style?

The link between parenting styles and outcomes for children is undeniable. And each parenting style might be appropriate in specific cases. Yet, of all the parenting styles, authoritative parents seem to get the best results.

In most instances, authoritative parenting is the most effective of all the types of parenting styles. Because their parents listen to them and explain what they need to know about their rules and decisions, the children feel understood and valued. They are more likely to follow the rules and pursue the set goals when they understand them. This is especially true if they had a voice in making those rules or setting those goals. Children learn from their parents how the world works and what they need to do to thrive. They tend to have positive attitudes, rational ways of thinking, and good social skills.

The permissive style of parenting has many drawbacks. The children are in control even though they aren't mature enough to know what's best for them. No one questions their poor decisions or expects them to do anything they aren't eager to do. This sets them up for disappointment and failure later in life. They don't have the skills they need to thrive unless they just happened to want to learn them. When they can't get what they want, the children of permissive parents don't know what to do about it. So, they act out in anger, quit trying, or get into bad habits.

The link between parenting and outcomes couldn't be more evident than with neglectful, uninvolved parenting. The children of uninvolved parents typically have very low self-esteem. After all, their parents showed no signs that they cared anything about them. Because an uninvolved parent's parenting practices are so lacking, the children grow up without any guidance or instruction in life. Thus, they may find it hard to build a life for themselves when they grow up.

As for the authoritarian parenting style, understanding what can happen if you stick to this style alone is critical. The influence of parenting like your child's ruler can show up later when they rebel against society or adopt extreme conformity. They tend to be filled with fear and anxiety and have low self-worth. With the authoritative parents around, the child might be quick to obey, but as soon as they are away from their parents, they tend to do the opposite of what their parents want.

How do I fix bad parenting?

The best way to fix bad parenting is to talk to a therapist about it. Maybe you were the victim of too much of the least helpful parenting styles—authoritarian, neglectful, or indulgent. Or maybe you've used these parenting styles too often, and now your children are behaving in unhealthy ways. Perhaps you would like to be a better parent and do what's most helpful for your children and your family. Maybe you learned about parenting through cultural influences like TV and movies, but now you want to learn more about the best parenting styles from an expert. In any of these cases, a therapist can help you heal the damage from bad parenting and set you on a better path for yourself and your children. Be on the lookout for bad parenting examples such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.

So, what can you do to help yourself? First, you can look at your parenting practices and determine what types of parenting styles you've been using. Next, try learning more about authoritative parenting. Put the parenting practices of an authoritative parent to work with your children. You can still use other styles at times if they are more appropriate to the situation. However, remember the relationships between parenting styles and children's behavior. Vary parenting styles as needed but avoid constantly switching from one style to another. Your child needs to know what to expect from you as much as possible.

Your children may need therapy as well, especially if your bad parenting has put them in danger or failed to meet their needs. If you've been a harsh disciplinarian, your child may need some therapy for their anxiety. And if you went through childhood with a bad parent, a therapist can help you understand what happened to you better and guide you as you learn to be a good parent for yourself and your children. If you have survived authoritarian, indulgent, or neglectful parents yourself, it's important to heal from your childhood. 

Can a parent yelling at a child be harmful?

Yes.  As a parent, yelling at your child can have severe consequences. Yelling is verbal abuse, and it can:

Affect the development of a child’s brain

Cause a child to become depressed

Cause medical conditions related to stress

Lead to chronic pain

Increase a child’s bad behavior

Raising children can be frustrating for anyone. That's why even the best parents may want to yell at their kids once in a while. But giving in to that impulse can be harmful to your child, no matter what parenting style you usually use. So, unless the yelling is to warn them of immediate danger, it's best to put a check on those parenting practices and find another way to communicate your message.

Why is authoritative parenting best?

Authoritative parenting has many advantages and benefits. Here are a few benefits that authoritative parents offer:

Children feel loved and valued and learn to value themselves as well

Children tend to behave appropriately

Children have a more positive attitude

Children become good at setting goals and working towards success

Family conflicts tend to be resolved without resorting to verbal or physical abuse

Children have limits as well as opportunities

In the long-term, children of authoritative parents tend to be more successful and happier

What are the 3 basic parenting styles? What is the hardest stage of parenting? What are the hardest parts of parenting? What is unhealthy parenting? What is emotionally abusive parenting?

Parenting styles: Related articles

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/what-is-authoritative-parenting-and-how-does-it-affect-children/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/how-to-balance-parenting-marriage/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/the-best-parenting-style-for-you-and-your-kids/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/dealing-with-codependent-parents-how-to-help-them-and-how-to-heal/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/the-top-parenting-fails-and-how-to-avoid-them/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/examples-of-bad-parenting-what-to-do-about-it/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/what-is-positive-parenting-and-how-does-it-work/

Uninvolved Parenting

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/the-dangers-of-indulgent-parenting/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/raising-a-child-alone-how-to-win-at-single-parenting/

https://www.regain.us/advice/parenting/parenting-skills-that-every-parent-should-have/

• Does Helicopter Parenting Hurt Your Child’s Future?

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Family — Parenting Styles

Essays on Parenting Styles

As a pivotal aspect of developmental psychology, understanding the impact of various parenting approaches on child development is crucial. These essays serve as exemplary models for students, offering insights into authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved parenting styles, among others.

The Influence of Parenting ... Read More As a pivotal aspect of developmental psychology, understanding the impact of various parenting approaches on child development is crucial. These essays serve as exemplary models for students, offering insights into authoritarian, permissive, authoritative, and uninvolved parenting styles, among others. The Influence of Parenting Styles on Child Development

Our essays delve into the psychological theories that underpin different parenting styles and their respective outcomes on children’s behavior, emotional well-being, and academic achievement . Students can explore the nuances of how each parenting approach fosters unique traits in children, from independence and self-esteem to obedience and self-regulation.

Cultural Perspectives on Parenting

Recognizing the diversity of family structures and cultural backgrounds, our samples also highlight how parenting styles are influenced by cultural norms and values. Essays encourage readers to consider the broader societal and environmental factors that shape parenting practices, offering a global perspective on child-rearing.

Parenting Styles and Their Adaptation Over Time

Amidst the ever-changing social landscapes, our essays examine how modern challenges such as digital technology, social media, and changing family dynamics have influenced contemporary parenting styles. Discussions on the balance between guidance and autonomy in the digital age provide students with a current view on the evolution of parenting strategies.

Practical Applications and Parenting Advice

Beyond theoretical exploration, our collection includes essays that offer practical advice for parents and caregivers seeking to adopt the most effective parenting style for their family’s needs. By presenting research-based recommendations, these essays serve as a resource for readers looking to apply developmental psychology principles in real-life parenting scenarios.

Fostering Healthy Parent-Child Relationships

Concluding with a focus on the ultimate goal of parenting, these essays emphasize the importance of fostering healthy, supportive, and nurturing relationships between parents and children. Through critical analysis and reflection, students are invited to consider how effective parenting styles contribute to the overall well-being and future success of children.

The Debate Over Strict Parenting: Rearing Children

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The Effect of Parenting Styles on Social and Emotional Development in Adolescents

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Parenting Styles Classification

Authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, indulgent parenting, neglectful parenting.

Different parenting styles can greatly affect the independence and social competence of a child. There is a variety of various styles, but this paper will focus on the four most widely recognized: authoritative, authoritarian, indulging, and neglectful.

Authoritative parenting has been described as the most desirable style by the researcher Diana Baumrind, who has described it first (Baumrind 1966). It involves being responsive and demanding of the child. Responsive parenting refers to the parents being attentive to their child’s needs and interests. Demanding parents set high expectations for their children. They expect certain levels of competence and success. Making the child follow certain behavioral patterns is also a part of demanding to parent. This style has been preferred by Baumrind since she stated that parents should create rules while being affectionate with their children. This approach answers both concerns. An authoritative parent sets goals for their child and helps them achieve them. They also support autonomy, as long as the child remains within the rules. The parents teach their children ways to achieve the goals and instruct them on proper interpersonal interactions. They reinforce good behavior and success with praise and rewards. When this approach is taken, the child develops high social competence and is able to adapt and act independently as a member of society. They also learn to follow certain rules and restrain themselves. That allows for better self-control and self-discipline, increasing the child’s chances to become successful in the future. There have been a lot of debates about parenting approaches, but authoritative parenting is widely recognized as one of the best possible styles.

Authoritarian parenting is characterized by the parents being demanding and unresponsive. Unresponsive parents ignore their children and do not pay attention to their personalities or wishes. It is important to consider that responsiveness is not measured by the amount of time spent with the child. Without emotional connection and consideration, responsiveness is impossible. This style is sometimes named a “Strict Father Model.” It was considered “too hard” by Baumrind. A child growing up in such an environment will face a lot of demands and no support in achieving them. The authoritarian parents are often distant, only paying attention to the child when punishing them or setting new goals for them. Corporal punishment is a widespread instrument of authoritarian parents. Instead of supporting children in their attempts to follow the rules and achieve the goals, such parents prefer to punish for the lack of results. The child’s initiative and preferences are ignored or even punished. The parents consider themselves the ultimate authority their child must follow without a doubt (Willams, Ciarrochi & Heaven 2012). Often, the only reward a child receives for the good results is the lack of punishment.

This approach to parenting can be highly destructive to the child’s social competence and mental health. Children of authoritarian parents tend to suffer from low self-esteem and lack of self-identification (Stassen Berger 2011). They often struggle with interpersonal interactions since parents fail to teach them how to judge human behavior and react properly. They also tend to fail in setting their own goals without parents telling them what to do and how. This style of parenting is typical for Asian countries which show high teenage suicide rates. Some researchers link this phenomenon with the downsides of authoritarian upbringing which fails to properly prepare the child for their role as a member of society (Santrock 2007). It is focused on the short-term success of the child and creates rigid behavioral patterns which cannot be used adaptively when the child reaches adulthood. This approach can be productive if the child is mentally resilient and can cope with the lack of affection. However, in such cases authoritative parenting is still likely to present better results.

Indulgent parenting is characterized by being responsive but undemanding. The parents respond to the traits of character their child displays and try to satisfy all of their needs. They do not set any goals or expect anything of their child, treating them as a friend and companion rather than somebody who depends on them and needs tutoring. Baumrind states that this style of parenting is “too soft.” This approach can have positive results under certain conditions. If the child easily gets interested with new activities and is competitive by nature, the parents utilizing this approach can allow him to explore and participate in activities at his own pace.

On the other hand, if the child is lazy and lacks initiative, this style of parenting will reinforce those qualities making them inert and socially incompetent in the future. The children raised like this can also lack self-control and discipline since their parents did not promote such behaviors. That can lead to drug or alcohol abuse, as well as violent behavior in the future (Baumrind 1991). This style of parenting also fails to relate the importance of success to the child. As a result, a child can become uncompetitive decreasing their chances to become successful. This approach also presents a serious issue if a child has violent or deviant tendencies. While authoritative parents can teach the child self-control, growing up in an indulgent family helps the tendencies become pathologies.

Neglectful parenting is characterized as unresponsive and undemanding. This style of parenting was not even considered by Braumind when she was creating her first classification since she did not consider it a variation of normal parenting practices. Neglectful parents pay minimum attention to their child. They are cold and detached. They do not set any goals or control the child’s upbringing in any meaningful way. This approach combines the negative sides of authoritarian and indulgent parenting styles without the benefits of either of those. The lack of guidance and teaching slows down the development and increases the risks of developing destructive tendencies. The lack of attachment can be more detrimental to the psychosocial development than violence.

The research by Maccoby and Martin conducted in 1983 discovered that children raised by neglectful parents were underdeveloped psychosocially, showed poor school performance, while experiencing high levels of internalized distress and problem behavior (Steinberg et al. 1994). That shows, that without affection and guidance, children fail to set their goals properly, cannot adequately interact with their peers and suffer from developing psychological issues. Such upbringing can result in long-term issues with motivation, self-image, and personal development. Many dysfunctional families display either neglectful or authoritarian approach to upbringing, highlighting them as the two least desirable parenting styles.

While some psychologists describe other parenting styles, the four described in this paper are the most basic ones. They relate to almost any family, and while there are variations, this classification covers the most important aspects of parenting. Any family can use this system to analyze their own parenting style and address some mistakes or imperfections preventing them from raising their child properly.

Baumrind, D 1966, ‘Effects of Authoritative Parental Control on Child Behavior’, Child Development , vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 887-907.

Baumrind, D 1991, ‘The Influence of Parenting Style on Adolescent Competence and Substance Use’, The Journal of Early Adolescence , vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 56-95.

Santrock, JW 2007, A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development , McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.

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Steinberg, L, Lamborn, S, Darling, N, Mounts, N & Dornbusch, S 1994, ‘Over-Time Changes in Adjustment and Competence among Adolescents from Authoritative, Authoritarian, Indulgent, and Neglectful Families’, Child Development , vol. 65, no.3, pp.754-770.

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Which Parenting Style Do You Have?

T here’s no task more challenging yet equally rewarding than becoming a parent. With parenting, there are different styles that can significantly influence a child’s development, affecting their psychological growth, emotional understanding, and social skills. While personality, personal experience, and cultural background are all factors that lead parents to develop a unique blend of different styles, there are four core parenting styles that psychologists have recognized and researched. Today, let’s have a little fun and explore these four types of parenting styles, taking a closer look to see how each one shapes our children.

Authoritarian Parenting

Often viewed as the “strict” parenting style, authoritarian parenting is characterized by high expectations and rigid rules. These are the types of parents who demand obedience and tend to use punishment rather than discipline. Authoritarian parents also expect their children to follow their rules at all times without asking any questions or having any complaints. 

While this style of parenting might instill a strong sense of discipline and responsibility in children, it can also have several negative impacts. These children are likely to develop lower self-esteem, difficulty in social situations, and a higher risk of mental health issues. In short, parents of this type appear too unapproachable to their kids, making it difficult for them to reach out. Children from authoritarian homes may also become either overly aggressive or overly submissive in their future relationships with others. While it’s important for children to understand that misbehaviour comes with consequences, authoritarian parenting can certainly take a toll on nurturing a child’s independence and creativity.

Permissive Parenting

On the other end of the spectrum, we have permissive parents who are often seen as too “lenient” or too “friend-like”. These types of parents provide very few guidelines or rules for their children in order to avoid confrontation. However, permissive parents are generally nurturing and communicative, often taking on more of a friend role rather than a parental figure.

While this parenting style can lead to a strong emotional bond between parent and child, the lack of rules and discipline can result in children becoming self-centered, resistant to authority, and struggling with self-control. Not used to being managed, these children may also have difficulty following orders, managing their time, and working towards achieving goals. While it’s definitely crucial that parents develop a friendly and deep relationship with their children, it’s important that they aim to maintain a good balance between strictness and understanding. After all, discipline is key to developing a well-rounded individual.

Neglectful Parenting

Neglectful parenting can almost be seen as a much more extreme form of permissive parenting – this style is characterized by a complete lack of responsiveness to a child’s needs. Neglectful parents don’t invest time into fulfilling their child’s basic needs, showing them little to no emotional involvement. This parenting style can often stem from parents being too overwhelmed by their own personal problems, which in turn, leads them to neglect their child’s needs. 

There are a wide array of problems that come with this parenting style. Children raised in such poor environments tend to struggle with self-esteem issues, perform poorly in school, and exhibit frequent behavioural problems. They likely feel neglected and struggle with feelings of abandonment, leading to future mental health issues. Although parents are surely dealing with their own set of struggles, it’s essential that you remain focused on prioritizing the emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of their child. It’s their responsibility to provide for someone who completely relies on them.

Authoritative Parenting

Containing both the best qualities of permissive and authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting is often seen as the most balanced approach. While parents will set clear rules and guidelines for their children to follow, they also respect their independence. Although high expectations are set, authoritative parents will provide all the resources and support their children will need to succeed.

Children who are raised in this positive environment tend to grow up to be confident, successful, and socially adept. They are likely to have better emotional control, good problem-solving skills, and higher self-esteem. Furthermore, they often perform well academically and are comfortable with expressing their inner thoughts and feelings. Thanks to the balancing of discipline and warmth, authoritative parenting focuses on nurturing a child’s individuality all while maintaining the role of an effective parent.

As you can see, parenting styles can be very different from person to person, all leading to different outcomes for their children. For many parents, you may not just follow one type of parenting, but a combination of a few. At the end of the day, as parents, we have an immense responsibility of providing a nurturing and supportive environment for our children to grow up in. Always strive to find the perfect balance that works for your household, adjusting your approach depending on your child’s unique needs and personality.