Parenting styles and child well-being

Abstract

The main objective of this chapter is to examine the changing views of socialization as they shape the task of parenting and define the standards of child well-being. Socialization is defined as the process by which children acquire the social, emotional, and cognitive skills needed to function in the social community. In turn, well-being is defined as a form of cognitive, affective, and social growth during human development that leads to a positive adjustment to given societal circumstances (e.g., rules, norms, and societal expectations). In this sense, well-being involves self-regulatory processes that help maintain and regain our normal level of subjective well-being in the face of developmental challenges. The chapter begins with the description of classical models of socialization that see children as being shaped by unidirectional influences from significant caregivers. Then it reviews a number of critical considerations that place the traditional models under more transcultural grounds and provides some extensions to the notion of parental control. Next, the chapter discusses the bidirectional models in parent-child relationships that underscore the influence of children’s views and actions on their parents and describes a new integrative account on parenting styles and child outcomes. The chapter ends by illustrating how recent family policies converge with the new socialization approaches proposed by scholars in the field. It seems that laymen, researchers, and policy-makers are, at last, endorsing a view of positive parenting that places the focus on the development of parent-child relationships to optimize the child’s development and well-being.