Effects Of Authoritarian Parenting On A

Child
The consequences of authoritarian parenting are mostly negative
than positive. Here are some of the negative effects (4) (5) (6):

1. Low self-esteem: Regular criticisms and reminders about how

the child ought to and ought not to behave make the child doubt
their worth and potential. And when the children’s
achievements are not appreciated, they grow up with low
self-esteem.
1. Poor social skills: Low esteem results in poor social skills as the
child has difficulty interacting with people in social settings.
They find it hard to express their feelings.
1. Indecisiveness: Children do not learn to think independently
and cannot make decisions. They always wait for guidance from
someone and are not proactive. They want others to decide for
them.
1. Lack self-discipline: The children of authoritarian parents
follow the rules well, but they lack self-discipline. Since they are
not encouraged to explore and think independently, they never
learn to set limits and standards for themselves. This leads to
indiscipline when there is no one to monitor.
1. Highly insecure: The emotional needs of children are not met
as the parents hardly provide love and warmth to their children.
This makes the kids insecure.
1. Rigid environment suppresses the child: The environment at
home is strict and may create unpleasantness in the child. Such
a situation is not conducive for the child to grow and thrive.
1. Lack of creativity: The children do not experiment out of their
purview as they are afraid that they might go wrong. The fear
inhibits their creativity.
 1. Cannot accept failure: Fear and anxiety drive them to perform
due to parental pressure. They fear failures and cannot see them
as a learning opportunity.
1. Behavioral problems: Harshness in the form of corporal
punishments and control leads to negative behavior in children.
They grow up internalizing violent behaviors.
1. Children become hostile: Children of authoritarian parents are
forced to do things they do not like. As a result, they turn out to
be aggressive when they reach their adolescence. They have a
hard time controlling their anger and resentment.
1. Poor academic performance: Studies reveal that authoritarian
parenting is linked to poor academic performance. Children
learn better from positive and constructive feedback than
negative criticism.
1. Depression and obesity: A study (7) has found that children
under authoritarian parenting are more likely to have
depressive symptoms than the children of other parenting styles.
Another study (8) has observed that the sons of authoritarian
mothers are likely to have a high body mass index.
There are several adverse effects of authoritarian parenting but
there are a few positive ones too.

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Benefits Of Authoritarian Parenting

Despite being a strict parenting style, authoritarian parenting has its
advantages. Here’s how it helps:

1. Discipline: Authoritarian parents emphasize on discipline, rules,

and consequences. Hence, the child knows that if they break the
rules, they have to bear the consequences. This trains the
children to behave well and be disciplined.
 1. Responsibility: Children become used to following the rules and
they never think about doing ‘wrong’ things. The habit becomes
so strong that it continues through their adult life.
[ Read: Co-Parenting ]

1. A safe environment: Authoritarian parenting focuses on the

safety of the children. This protects the children from bad
company and wrong decisions.
1. Clarity about goals: Authoritarian parents are structured. They
have plans, rules, and instructions for everything and their
children know what to do to reach their goals.
1. Zeal to do things the right way: The children know about the
consequences of failure. As they get used to doing things right it
becomes a habit and drives them to success.
In spite of its positives, authoritarian parenting is not something
psychologists recommend because authoritative parenting provides
all these benefits minus the adverse effects.

Authoritarian Vs. Authoritative Parenting

Styles
Experts believe that authoritarian parenting affects the child
negatively while authoritative parenting is healthy and has a positive
impact on the children.

Here are the differences between the two:

AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING AUTHORITATIVE PARENTING

High on demandingness and low on High on demandingness and high on

 responsiveness responsiveness

Parents don’t discuss the rules with Parents discuss the rules and take feedback
children. They enforce rules and punish from children. Enforce rules and
the children when they don’t follow them consequences but explain the rationale
behind them

Resistance to rules is met with Resistance to rules is sorted out through

punishment discussion

Do not allow the child to be independent Encourage the child to think and live
independently.

Use punitive methods for punishments Provide love, warmth, and support

Have high expectations for children Have reasonable expectations that are
appropriate to the child’s age

Children of authoritarian parents are Children of authoritative parents are

unhappy and have behavioral problems happy, successful, and resourceful

Parents do not use the same style of parenting throughout their lives;
it may change depending on the child’s age and requirements at that
age.