Parental authority, nurturance, and two-dimensional self-esteem

Authors: TAFARODI, ROMIN W.; WILD, NICOLE; HO, CAROLINE

Source: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, Volume 51, Number 4, August 2010 , pp. 294-303(10)

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Abstract:

Tafarodi, R. W., Wild, N. & Ho, C. (2010). Parental authority, nurturance, and two-dimensional self-esteem. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology.

This study examined the relations of parental permissiveness, authoritativeness, authoritarianism, and nurturance with two dimensions of self-esteem - self-liking and self-competence. In a sample of 207 two-parent families, university students and both their parents provided independent reports on all the above variables. Covariance structure analysis was used to eliminate reporter-specific bias and unreliability in predicting student self-esteem from parenting behavior. The results revealed highly redundant positive associations of mothers' and fathers' authoritativeness and nurturance with both self-liking and self-competence. The pattern of these associations suggests that the significance of parental authoritativeness for the child's self-esteem is due mainly to the nurturance it provides. Contrary to expectation, mothers' and fathers' authoritarianism was also positively associated with self-liking. As discussed, however, this is likely to be an artifact of the specific measures and testing methods used.

Keywords: Parent-child relations; self-esteem; parental authority; nurturance

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00804.x

Publication date: 2010-08-01