Do We Know Enough about Negative Parenting? Recent Evidence on Parenting Styles and Child Maladjustment

Abstract

Background: There are serious doubts as to whether parental strictness, one of the two main dimensions of parental style, can be a negative or positive component of parenting in traditional societies. Method: Parenting style (authoritarian, authoritative, indulgent, and neglectful) was captured from strictness and warmth dimensions and child maladjustment was assessed with problems of self-esteem and self-concept (academic, social, emotional, family, and physical) studied worldwide. The sample was composed of 1,282 Chinese participants (676 females, 52.7%), 581 adolescent children (age ranging from 12-18 years, 45.3%), and 701 young adult children (age ranging from 19-31 years, 54.7%). A 4 × 2 × 2 factorial MANOVA was applied for all outcomes using parenting style, sex, and age as the independent variables. Results: The statistical analysis plainly indicated that authoritarian (strictness but not warmth) and neglectful (neither strictness nor warmth) parenting styles were associated with higher maladjustment in terms of lower self-esteem and self-concept scores. Indulgent (not strictness but warmth) and authoritative (strictness and warmth) parenting were positive parenting styles acting as protective factors against self-esteem and self-concept problems. The authoritative style (strictness and warmth), but not the authoritarian parenting style (strictness but not warmth), was the most positive parenting for academic self-concept, but only among adolescents. Conclusions: Interestingly, completely contrary to expectations that authoritarian parenting might be a positive parenting in traditional societies, present findings suggest that the authoritarian style might be a negative parenting related to child maladjustment.

Parent-child attachment mediates the association between parental conflict perceptions and suicide intention: a cross-sectional survey among middle school students in China

“…Moreover, our results challenge previous classical research in China which suggested that a parent-child relationship characterized by lower responsiveness may benefit Chinese adolescents ( 33 , 34 ). Instead, our findings align more closely with recent evidence suggesting that, within Chinese society, parental responsiveness plays a vital role in safeguarding adolescents against various challenges ( 32 ). The reason for these interesting results may be due to the special one-child policy enacted in China from 1979, where parents paid excessive attention to and doted on their children, which in turn led to the children's psychology of resisting rebellion and wanting to get rid of parental constraints and control, so instead, to a certain extent less attached parent-child relationships would promote children's growth ( 67 ), but with the changes in China's fertility policy, the proportion of adolescents who are not one-child children is now considerably higher than before, and there have been changes in the structure of the family, coupled with the fierce competition in society and the parents' busy schedule, which may result in the negligence of their children ( 68 ).…”

“…However, parent-child relationships and their effects on adolescent adjustment may not always be the same across cultures ( 24 , 31 ). Especially in Chinese families, closeness, affect and involvement (reactive use) are not clearly defined in relation to child outcomes ( 32 ). In this sense, some studies have shown that Chinese-American adolescents whose parents are highly demanding but lowly responsive to their children adjust well, especially in terms of academic achievement ( 33 , 34 ).…”

“…Similar results have been found in other traditionally hierarchical societies, such as Arabia ( 35 , 36 ). However, recent evidence seems to suggest that parent-child relationships based on responsiveness (communication and trust) are beneficial for adolescents even in the People's Republic of China ( 32 ). Unlike Western countries, China has a particular cultural context due to the country's special one-child policy in the 1970s and the opening up of the second child policy in recent years.…”

Parenting styles and personal belief in a just world among Chinese children and adolescents: gender, living location, and age as moderators

“…Our results show that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with PBJW in children and adolescents. This is because in today's China, children and adolescents' self-awareness is gradually awakening, and they gradually disapprove of authoritarian parenting, which negatively impacts the development of PBJW (Zhang et al, 2017 ; Chen et al, 2024 ). Permissive parenting does not identify children and adolescents' real needs in time and provides consistent standards for their behavior (Baumrind et al, 2010 ), which is detrimental to their PBJW development.…”

“…Research findings indicate that the effectiveness of parenting styles in fostering the development of children and adolescents varies, which can be explained by the cultural background of parenting, as families evolve within societal systems characterized by specific cultural values and beliefs (Palacios et al, 2022 ). Thus, although parents may be the same, the degree to which children feel loved, valued, and connected to their families can vary significantly depending on the cultural background (Chen et al, 2024 ). In Chinese culture, the term “authoritarian” has different connotations (Chao, 1994 ).…”