Parenting is one of the most important roles any individual will take on in their lifetime. The approach parents take in raising their children can have a significant impact on child development and long-term well-being. One parenting style that gets attention is authoritarian parenting due to its strict control and high demands put on children.
Authoritarian Parenting Characteristics
Authoritarian parenting emphasizes total control, obedience, and strict rules by parents. Some key characteristics of this parenting style include:
High Demands and Low Warmth
Authoritarian parents place significant demands on their children to obey rules without explanation. They expect order, and conformity and have very high standards for behavior without allowing for much independence or questioning of authority by children. At the same time, these parents are generally less warm and affectionate.
One-Way Communication
Rather than engaging in open dialogue, authoritarian parents communicate one way, telling children what to do without explanation or discussion. Children’s viewpoints and opinions are not valued, and there is little room for compromise or parental authority to be questioned.
Strict Discipline and Punishment
Mistakes are not tolerated under authoritarian parenting. Rules are enforced rigidly through strict discipline, scolding, and harsh punishment such as yelling, threatening, or corporal punishment like spanking. Parents focus on obedience through fear rather than reasoning.
Control Through Criticism and Shame
Control is maintained through criticism of the child’s behavior, thoughts, and traits. Emotional responses like guilt, shame, or embarrassment are used to coerce children into obedience. Positive reinforcement of good behavior is limited.
Authoritarian Parenting Style and Effects
The consequences of authoritarian parenting can depend on the individual child and other factors in their life. However, research has found some common effects that parenting style may have on development:
Poorer Mental Health
Studies have linked authoritarian parenting with increased risk of mental health problems like depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. The lack of warmth and control through criticism in this style fails to meet kids’ emotional needs.
Lower Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy
When control, achievement, and obedience are valued over a child’s individuality or autonomy, it can undermine self-esteem development. Overly critical parenting also reduces kids’ sense of self-efficacy and ability to solve problems independently.
Weaker Relationship with Parents
The lack of open communication and mutual respect in authoritarian relationships builds distance between children and parents. Kids may resent the control imposed upon them and perceive parents as unavailable or distrustful.
Academic Underachievement
While authoritarian parents strongly emphasize achievement and intelligence, their children tend to perform worse in school compared to children raised with an authoritative style. Excessive criticism and control can backfire.
Increased Delinquency and Risk-Taking
Some research shows authoritarian parenting is linked to more oppositional behavior, rule-breaking, and risk-taking by adolescents trying to establish their independence in reaction to early control. Lack of open dialogue prevents teaching responsibility.
Psychological Control Issues in Adulthood
Adults who experienced authoritarian parenting as children are more likely to struggle with psychological control, intrusive thinking, and dependency issues in their own adult relationships due to a lack of autonomy development during childhood.
Authoritarian Parenting Examples
To better understand how authoritarian parenting expresses itself in real families, here are a few examples of behaviors demonstrating this style:
- A mother who micromanages every aspect of her teenage daughter’s life, from school activities to friend choices, enforcing inflexible household rules without input from her daughter.
- A father who demands excellence from his children and closely monitors their school performance, harshly criticizing any test scores or grades that fall short of his high expectations.
- Parents who set strict bedtimes, diet restrictions, and screen time limits for their young children but refuse to explain the reasoning behind rules and punish lightly for any perceived violations.
- A parent who belittles their child’s interests and hobbies if they do not align with their own preferences, aiming to coerce the child into approved activities through emotional manipulation.
- Parents who expect unwavering obedience and respect from their kids but show little affection, affection or compromise themselves when interacting as a family.
These situations demonstrate the central tenets of authoritarian parenting through rigid control, high demands of achievement, and lack of warmth, flexibility, or dialogue seen in the parent-child dynamic.
Also Read: Permissive Parenting: Understanding the Approach and Its Impact
Authoritative vs Authoritarian Parenting
While sometimes confused, there is an important distinction between authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles. Authoritative parenting, considered the optimal approach, seeks to balance both parental control and child autonomy through open communication:
- Authoritative parents enforce rules reasonably and consistently but are also warm and receptive to children’s viewpoints.
- Rules are explained to children and input from the child’s perspective is valued. This builds understanding and cooperation rather than fear-based obedience.
- Discipline involves logical consequences along with explanation so children learn responsibility through guided participation rather than punishment alone.
- High expectations co-exist with emotional support so kids feel empowered rather than overwhelmed by parental demands on their development.
- Independence is fostered alongside supervision as children mature, providing challenges suitable to their level while also maintaining appropriate parental involvement.
In contrast, authoritarian parenting over-emphasizes control and stifles child autonomy without consideration for a child’s individual needs. Authoritative parenting produces better overall outcomes by balancing structure with nurturing guidelines tailored for each developmental stage.
Authoritarian Parenting Pros and Cons
While authoritarian parenting can have negatives, it is important to acknowledge some potential pros as well to have a balanced perspective:
Pros
- Obedient, well-behaved children accustomed to structure and self-discipline through parental enforcement of strict rules.
- High-achieving children motivated by parental demands, although the stress of unrealistic expectations can backfire.
- Children learn the importance of authority through the example of parental control at home.
Cons
- Emotional deprivation and lack of open communication damage the parent-child bond.
- Psychological stress from inability to freely express themselves or develop a strong sense of self.
- Rebelliousness or acting out may occur later in life to gain independence suppressed during childhood.
- Academic underperformance despite efforts due to the negative association of learning with harsh criticism.
- Mental health issues like depression are more likely due to a lack of parental emotional nurturing.
- Dependency and control problems carry into adulthood relationships outside the home.
Overall, the cons can outweigh the pros when authoritarian tactics are taken to an extreme without flexibility or consideration of a child’s humanity and individual needs at each stage. A balanced approach works best.
How to Deal with an Authoritarian Parent
For anyone raised by highly authoritarian parents or still living under such control, it’s important to establish psychological boundaries while avoiding resentment:
- Understand this style reflects their upbringing more than a reflection of you as a person. Don’t internalize criticism.
- Communicate respectfully but also voice your viewpoint and compromise when reasonable to gradually shift dynamics.
- Focus on independence through education/career but don’t shut parents out completely if possible, for cultural/family reasons.
- Seek support from other trusted individuals if the home environment feels emotionally suffocating or affects mental health/relationships long-term.
- In adulthood with independence, set affectionate yet firm limits on any attempts at controlling behaviors that invade your personal life as an independent adult.
With patience and perspective on multiple generations, the effects of authoritarian parenting can be overcome by establishing one’s own identity and building relationships based on mutual understanding rather than control or fear alone. Personal growth is possible with emotional distance if needed.
FAQs about Authoritarian Parenting
What are the problems with authoritarian parenting?
The main issues with authoritarian parenting stem from the strict control and lack of warmth it emphasizes. By not considering a child’s individual needs and suppressing their autonomy, it can lead to mental health problems, poor academic performance, delinquency, weak family bonds and dependency issues in adulthood. The inability to develop identity separate from parental demands also causes problems.
How does authoritarian parenting style affects child development?
Authoritarian parenting has been shown to negatively impact various aspects of child development. It undermines self-esteem formation and independence due to high criticism and control. Lack of warmth prevents children from learning relationship and self-regulation skills needed as they mature. Constant demands also override healthy exploration important for cognitive growth. Overall development is hindered by the disregard of children’s humanity and needs at each stage in favor of rigidity.
What is the authoritarian parenting theory?
The authoritarian parenting theory was established by developmental psychologist Diana Baumrind, defining three main parenting prototypes – permissive, authoritative, and authoritarian. She described authoritarian parenting as highly demanding and directive but not responsive involved. It values obedience, respect for authority, and hard work without consideration for individual needs or opinions. Follow-up research has explored its effects on areas like achievement, mental health, and relationships using this theoretical framework.
How does authoritarian parenting affects relationships?
Authoritarian parenting has been shown to negatively impact children’s ability to form close relationships. It models distance and control instead of open communication and mutual understanding in relationships. As a result, children raised by authoritarian parents often experience difficulty trusting others and expressing emotions freely. They may struggle with intimacy, independence from parental control, and forming secure attachments with peers and romantic partners later in life. Authoritarian parenting styles have been linked to lower quality marriages and recurrent dependency issues in adulthood relationships due to lack of proper social-emotional skills development during childhood. Children learn that love is conditional on obedience rather than unconditional acceptance. Overall, authoritarian control breeds loneliness rather than empowering children with tools for building enduring close bonds crucial for well-being.
What are the effects of authoritarian parenting in adulthood?
While every person is different, research has found common themes among adults who experienced authoritarian parenting as children. They may struggle with asserting their own needs and prioritizing self-care due to internalized high expectations. Psychological reactions like anxiety, depression and dependency also occur more frequently as coping mechanisms developed in childhood fail to meet adult relationship needs. Professionally, overly critical parenting can undermine work performance and career ambitions. Interpersonally, intimate partnerships pose difficulties due to patterns of emotional restriction, control, and distrust modeled early on. However, with self-awareness and counseling, many negative effects of authoritarian upbringings can be overcome or mitigated through establishing psychological autonomy and embracing healthy communication styles.
