1. Am I a Good Parent? : Parenting Styles and their Effects on
Children
Developmental psychologists have long been interested in how parents impact child
development. 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 astonishingly different personalities than
one another. On the basis of these findings, the current research focuses on studying Indian
parenting styles, its effect on offspring and the differences in the ideologies of women and
men in bringing up their child. Findings are based on a survey conducted among parents in
the age-group of 30-50 years and interviews with parents and children. Three important
concepts regarding parenting have been identified- Disciplinary strategies, Communication,
and Nurturance. The data obtained through this survey shows that most parents use the
authoritative style of parenting, however, there are noted differences among the styles used
by women and men. The data obtained through interviews with an adolescent child and
parents suggested that authoritative parenting is preferred both by parents and children.
Numerous research studies have also found the same (Maccoby, 1992). Interviews with
female parents showed that they conform to authoritative parenting. On the contrary, results
indicate that male parents use authoritarian parenting considering the patriarchy of Indian
society, however there were a few exceptions.
INTRODUCTION
Psychologist Diana Baumrind (1971, 1991) identified four patterns of parenting styles based
upon two aspects of parenting behaviour: control and warmth. Parental control refers to the
degree to which parents manage their children’s behaviour—from being very controlling to
setting few rules and demands. Parental warmth refers to the degree to which parents are
accepting and responsive of their children’s behaviour as opposed to being unresponsive and
rejecting. When the two aspects of parenting behaviour are combined in different ways, four
primary parenting styles emerge:
Authoritative Parents are warm but firm. They encourage their children to be independent
while maintaining limits and controls on their actions and do not invoke the “because I said”
rule.
Authoritarian Parents display little warmth and are highly controlling. They are strict
disciplinarians, use a restrictive, punitive style, and insist that their children follow parental
directions. Authoritarian parents invoke phrases such as, “you will do this because I said,”
and “because I’m the parent and you are not.”
Permissive Parents are very warm, but undemanding. They are indulgent and passive in their
parenting, and believe that the way to demonstrate their love is to give in to their children’s
wishes. Permissive parents invoke such phrases as, “sure, you can stay up late if you want
to,” and “you do not need to do any chores if you don’t feel like it.” Permissive parents do
not like to say no or disappoint their children.

2. Uninvolved Parents are not warm and do not place any demands on their children. They
minimize their interaction time, and, in some cases, are uninvolved to the point of being
neglectful. They are indifferent to their children’s needs, whereabouts, or experiences at
school or with peers. They invoke such phrases as, “I don’t care where you go,” or “why
should I care what you do?”
RELAVENT RESEARCH ON PARENTING
Developmental psychologists overwhelmingly endorse authoritative parenting as the optimal
parenting style for raising adolescents (Steinberg, 2001). Authoritative parenting is
associated with healthy adolescent development and provides a balance between affection
and support and an appropriate degree of parental control in managing adolescent behaviour.
Although an authoritative parenting style is related to positive developmental outcomes,
many parents likely use a mixture of different parenting styles when parenting their children.
For example, a parent may be more permissive in allowing an extended weekend curfew, but
more authoritarian in disallowing their teen to ride in a car with friends after 11 p.m. Thus,
parents may modify their individual parenting style to fit particular circumstances. Parenting
styles may also differ between parents (e.g., one parent is permissive while the other parent is
authoritarian). In this situation, parents should discuss, in private, acceptable and
unacceptable teen behaviours and those areas where they can reach agreement in parenting
their children. Children’s behaviour also influences parenting style. Whereas a cooperative,
motivated, and responsible child may be more likely to have parents who exercise an
authoritative parenting style, an uncooperative, immature, and irresponsible child may be
more likely to elicit a parenting style that is authoritarian or uninvolved.
Like most important topics in psychology, research on parenting styles is not immune to the
nature- nurture debate. On the nurture (environmental) side, developmental psychologist
Eleanor Maccoby admits that many studies in the past have placed too much emphasis on the
effects of parenting style and children’s psychological outcomes. On the nature (genetic)
side of the debate, behavioural geneticists tend to be less interested in the home environment
(e.g. exposure to a certain type of parenting style) and more interested in inherited,
dispositional factors in children. Researchers conducting these types of studies look for
differences in children’s outcomes despite being raised in a similar environment. An
authoritative parenting style is more common among White families than African American,
Asian American, and Hispanic American families while an authoritarian parenting style
appears to be more common among ethnic minority families than among White families.
Several reasons are proposed for these differences in parenting styles and their outcomes:
Ethnic minority families may live in dangerous neighbourhoods, where safety is often an
issue. In this context, authoritarian parenting, which emphasizes parental control and
obedience to parental authority, can be advantageous.
While research findings support a significant relationship between authoritative parenting and
positive developmental outcomes, several factors warrant further consideration:
 Research supports consistent parenting, but parenting behaviours may be influenced
by internal factors, such as mood and lack of sleep, as well as external factors such as

3. stress and job responsibilities. Overall, however, one parenting style typically
emerges as the dominant style.
 Parenting style is a broad concept that consists of many factors. Additional research is
needed to understand the components of the different styles.
The current research examines the effects of the four parenting styles on children. This
research hypothesises that the types of parenting styles used by the parent effects the
upbringing of children either negatively or positively. (Operational definition of IV:
Parenting styles- authoritarian, authoritative, permissive and uninvolved; DV: different styles
of parenting affects the child’s personality). The purpose of this study was to find out the
most common type of parenting style used in the 21st century and whether it coincides with
the needs of the children. Children in the 21st century are heavily influenced by technology,
peer pressure and familial responsibility, the latter in case of low socio-economic status. This
study also concentrates on the effects of different parenting styles on their children.
METHOD
Participants
The sample size of this survey was 30 which included 15 females and 15 males. All
participants were in the age group between 30-50 years. All participants were from Mumbai
city who have children between 7-19 years.
Materials
Informed consent forms were used containing information about procedures, benefits and
risks of participating, voluntary participation, and contact information of the researcher. The
purpose of the study was also on the consent form. Additional materials included a self-
compiled survey.
Design and procedure
Participants were given out the survey sheets and asked to fill it without leaving any question
unanswered. The instructions given in the survey sheet clearly emphasized honesty and the
purpose of the survey. After completing the questionnaire, each parent was asked to justify
their answers to the questions.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
An ANOVA was conducted to check whether the results were significant or not and the
hypothesis of the research was retained. Most parents choose to use the authoritative style of
parenting keeping in mind the needs of children in 21st century. Children whose parents have
an authoritative style of parenting said that the house environment is more open and free for
communication and that they are comfortable talking to their parents. This was especially
acknowledged by adolescents. 89% of parents are shown to prefer an authoritative style of
parenting, followed by 5% preferring an authoritarian style, 3% with the permissive style and
1% with the uninvolved style.

4. The following diagram shows the data obtained:
The results obtained make it clear that Indian families in the 21st century are inclined to use a
‘democratic’ style of parenting children. Most parents felt that children needed to be
understood through their environment. It is necessary that parents acknowledge their
environment and act accordingly to fulfil their needs. In the era of technology and social
networking, parents feel that they need to take a different turn to bring up their children and
that their childhood environment was a different time and era altogether. But, this does not
mean that authoritative style of parenting is the best method to use while parenting. The
people involved in this study had a positive opinion about this particular style of parenting.
Other parents may have different ideologies about the methods of parenting.
According to a new study by researchers in the University Of Exeter, UK, a new link between
depression and poor parenting skills has been identified. (Psychogiou et al, 2013) These
researchers have pointed out key symptoms of depression which are more likely to cause
difficulties in parenting. The article reveals that parents who suffer depression may suffer
from shame and guilt as a result of being emotionally distant and unavailable to their children
at the appropriate development stage. Reportedly, these findings may lead to more effective
ways to prevent depression and other psychological disorders from being passed on from
parent to child.
According to Dubin and Dubin (1963), the apparent conflict between individuality and
conformity is resolved by the imposition of parental authority and teaches the child about
variable characteristics of social demands and instructs him/her to accept from the range of
choices available.
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Authoritative Uninvolved Permissive

5. Numerous studies examine the effects on children having mentally ill parents. Children of
parents with psychosis might be directly involved in a parent’s delusions (Rutter et al, 1984).
And while parental mental illness is a factor in 10%–42% of child-protection cases, it needs
to be stressed that parental mental illness does not solely constitute a protective concern nor
predispose a parent to abuse and/or neglect his or her children (Darlington et al, 2005). The
family context, including the presence of marital discord, violence, the presence or absence of
the other parent (and the presence of a disorder in the other parent) and the social support
available to the family will also influence the level of risk that children are exposed to.
Factors associated with successful parenting outcomes for mothers with schizophrenia were
stability within the family and access to financial and social resources (Abel et al, 2005). A
study found lower levels of attainment — in terms of communication, academic
competencies and social functioning — in children whose parents were experiencing higher
levels of psychological distress (Mensah et al, 2010).
There have been a handful of studies concentrating on cultural differences in parenting. One
of them, shows that independence and social skills were characteristics valued more among
Anglo parents than Vietnamese and Somali parents, whereas compliance was valued more by
Vietnamese parents than the other three cultural groups. These parents were from different
cultural backgrounds settled in Australia. Cultural differences in childrearing goals were not
affected by the length of time parents had spent in Australia (Wise and Da Silva, 2007)
Results of a study conducted to find out whether authoritative style of parenting is the
optimum style of parenting, showed that both the indulgent and authoritative parenting styles
were associated with better outcomes than authoritarian and neglectful parenting. (Garcia and
Garcia, 2009)
REFERENCES
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology
Monographs, 4 (1, Pt.2).
Collins, W.A., Maccoby, E.E., Steinberg, L., Hetherington, E.M., & Bornstein, M.H. (2000).
Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. American
Psychologist, 55 (2), 218-232.
https://www.mja.com.au/open/2012/1/1/children-whose-parents-have-mental-illness-
prevalence-need-and-treatment. Article taken on 26th October 2013.
Garcia, F., Garcia, E., (2009), Is Always Authoritative Style of Parenting the Optimum
Parenting Style? Evidence from Spanish Families. ADOLESCENCE, Vol. 44, No. 173.