Authoritative Parenting Styles

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Perfectionism is defined as a strict dedication to outrageously high personal standards, oversensitivity to mistakes, as well as overemphasis of failures (Gong, Fletcher, Bolin, 2015). Through the years, research has come to show a link between parenting styles and perfectionism, but what has yet to be fully understood is how the two influence each other. Research explains that there are multiple dimensions of perfectionism that involve personal aspects as well as social aspects (Flett, Hewitt, Singer, 1995). Socially - prescribed perfectionism is defined as a culture, person, or community expecting total excellence of an individual (Maloney, Egan, Kane, Rees 2014). This dimension of perfectionism is commonly linked to authoritative parenting styles. …show more content…
(1995), authoritative parenting style is considered the most adaptive parenting style due to the use of discipline accompanied with reason and warmth. Authoritative parents have also been known to engage in autonomy granting, a parenting method where they allow their child to make their own choices in areas where they are ready to choose in (Berk, 573). One example of this autonomy granting behavior would be to let a child who knows how to dress themselves pick out clothes they wish to wear for the day. Authoritative parenting styles give a child choice, but how does parental wishes, or standards of society, affect how a child makes a decision? The purpose of this study is to see if an authoritative parenting style influences perfectionism and parental expectations. Through the research, it is hoped to uncover why social pressures, or the supposed ‘status quo’, have such a large impact on human