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Authoritarian Vs Authoritative Research

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Authoritative vs Authoritarian; Which Approach Provides Academic and Social Prosperity? Throughout the world, there is much debate on the proper ways to raise children. Are parents being too strict? Are parents being too lenient? What is the perfect balance? What must parents do to help the future generations succeed in school and the workplace? While there will always be debate over the correct way to raise children, research shows that emerging adults raised by authoritative parents perform exceptionally higher academically and in the workplace, and are more confident and self-aware than children raised by authoritarian parents. In 2011, Amy Chua wrote a controversial article titled Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother that depicted her as a …show more content…

depicted a parenting style filled with warmth, acceptance, engagement, independence, and support. Many Western families adopt the same authoritative approach and raise successful children to adulthood. Authoritative parents “recognize children’s individuality, encourage verbal exchange, engage in joint decision-making, and insist that children progressively assume more responsibility for responding to the needs of other family members within the limits of their capabilities” (Marsiglia, Walczyk, Buboltz, Griffith-Ross, “Impact of Parenting Styles…”). Authoritative parents are responsive to their children, knowing when to back away to foster independence and when to support them. Based on Chua’s stance on parenting, she might scoff that an authoritative parent would not produce successful, confident children, but that is far from the truth. Children of authoritative parents are self-reliant, demonstrate social and academic competence, exhibit fewer problem behaviors and fewer mental health problems than authoritarian parents (Waterman, Lefkowitz, “Are Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting Characteristics…”). Children of authoritative parents have been linked to perfectionism throughout their college years, exhibiting higher grades, being task-involved, and better rapport with instructors (Waterman, Lefkowitz, “Are Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting Characteristics…”). Authoritative parents foster more secure attachments with their children, leading to positive working habits such as independent reading, planning for the future, and taking the initiative to solve academic problems which leads emerging adults to have better academic performance and adjustment. Empirical research has also discovered that authoritative parenting is associated with emerging adult’s better study skills and higher GPA (Waterman, Lefkowitz, “Are Mothers’ and Fathers’ Parenting

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