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This week’s reading looks at the various types of parenting styles amongst adolescents and their parents. Gavazzi lists four different types of parenting styles, and looks at the overall demand and response of each style, the characteristics of each parenting style, and the overall message sent to the adolescent through the use of each parenting style. The four different styles of parenting include Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive/Indulgent,  and Indifferent/Neglectful (Gavazzi, 2011). The Authoritative attachment style has a high demand coupled with a high response, and “Relationships with adolescents include a great deal of warmth, support, affection, nurturance. At the same time, however, the high demandingness of authoritative parents translates into a great deal of structure and control being placed on the adolescent’s life.” (Gavazzi, 2011, p.69). According to Gavazzi (2011), the message that is sent across to adolescents by their parents is that the parents are demanding because they love the child and know what is best (p.69).

On the other hand, the authoritarian parenting style has a high demand, however, that is also characterized by a low responsiveness (Gavazzi, 2011). In this parenting style, there are high expectations to follow the rules and the emotional environment is much less warm (Gavazzi, 2011). However, there have been some studies that have shown that this style of parenting can lead to positive outcomes for adolescents that are considered to be a part of minority groups. The message that is most often portrayed here is “‘You will follow directions because I’m the parent and I told you to do so’” (Gavazzi, 2011), or “Because I said so.”

Contrary to both the authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles is the permissive parenting style (also known as indulgent). This particular style of parenting presents a low demand and high response (Gavazzi, 2011). There are few expectations of the adolescent, and there is more of an emphasis of creating a warm and accommodating emotional environment (Gavazzi, 2011). Parents that display this style of parenting are sending a message of unconditional love regardless of the behaviors that the adolescent is displaying (Gavazzi, 2011).

Indifferent parents, which can also be labeled as neglectful, are low in demandingness and responsiveness (Gavazzi, 2011). Gavazzi (2011) states, “these parents do not place any sort of structure or control over the lives of their teenage sons and daughters, nor is there any felt sense of closeness or connection. Instead the message is ‘go ahead and do whatever you please whenever you please, just please leave me out of it’” (p.69). As a result, these parents typically get their own toes stepped on, and are unable to control behaviors deemed to be out of control (Gavazzi, 2011).

Citations:

Gavazzi, S. M. (2011). Families with adolescents: Bridging the gaps between theory, research, and practice. Springer Science + Business Media.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMxqTXgRO9E

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Parenting Styles | Scout O’Donnell | TEDxTheMastersSchool

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https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Characteristics-of-Parenting-Styles-and-their-Effects-on-Adolescent-Development

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I am a special needs counselor for grade K-5 and I have a bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology. I've worked with children for 5+ years.

Parenting styles are the different types of ways parents raise their children; most parenting styles are a made up of a mix of the parent's expectations, performance demands, attentiveness to rules, and level of warmth (Psychology Glossary, 2014).

Parenting Styles

While parenting styles do influence adolescent development, adolescents themselves can influence the type of parenting style their parents use.

For instance, an adolescent who always follows the rules may influence their parents to be more lenient, whereas an adolescent that breaks the rules may influence their parents to be stricter with rules and discipline.

There are six main types of parenting styles: attachment parenting, helicopter parenting, permissive parenting, authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting, and uninvolved parenting. Each of these different parenting styles can influence adolescent development.

1. Attachment Parenting

Attachment parenting is a style of caring with the intent of the parent and child forming a strong emotional bond. Parents who choose this style of parenting often believe in natural childbirth, a family bed, avoidance of corporal punishment, homeschooling and may be part of the anti-vaccination movement (McGolerick, 2011).

These types of parents respond promptly to their child's needs, are sensitive and emotionally available for the child at all times (McGolerick, 2011).

Parents that choose this parenting style believe that a strong attachment to the parent helps the child become a more secure, empathic, peaceful human being (McGolerick, 2011).

Attachment parenting instills the ability to self-soothe and manage anxiety in adolescents (Markham, 2014).

Adolescents that grew up with parents who utilized attachment parenting tend to be cooperative with their parents, interact better with peers, learn more rapidly in school, have higher self-esteem, and are more flexible and resilient under stress (Markham, 2014).

2. Helicopter Parenting
Helicopter parenting is a style of parenting where the parents tend to be involved in every aspect of their child's life to the extent of over-involvement.
These parents constantly interact with and often interfere with their children's lives to ensure the safety and security of their child, but this often leads to smothering (McGolerick, 2011).

Helicopter parenting can cause adolescents to become dependent on their parent's money, time, and advice (McGolerick, 2011).

This style of parenting can also compromise teenagers' autonomy, mastery, and personal growth (Marano, 2014).

In some cases, helicopter parenting has led to the development of narcissism, poor coping skills, and amplification of anxiety and stress (Marano, 2014).

Parents that continue to use helicopter parenting once their child has developed into an adolescent can cause their child to resent them due to feelings of humiliation.

Helicopter Parents Often Interfere too Much

3. Permissive Parenting
Permissive parenting is a style of nontraditional parenting where the parents tend to avoid setting rules for their children.

These types of parents are warm and understanding towards their children; they tend to be lenient to the extreme and avoid using discipline.

Permissive parenting can lead to adolescents learning that rules are not important and that consequences are very light for misbehaviors (Kopko, 2007).

Adolescents that grow up with permissive parents often have trouble with self-control, demonstrate egocentric tendencies, and experience difficulty developing good peer relationships.

4. Authoritarian Parenting
Authoritarian parenting is a punitive style of parenting that is restrictive on children.

Authoritarian parents are strict disciplinarians who display little warmth towards their children while exerting a high level of control of their child's life.

Authoritarian parents insist that their adolescent follow directions without argument or discussion (Kopko, 2007).

Authoritarian parenting can lead to two main outcomes:

1. adolescents may become rebellious and display aggressive behaviors toward parents and peers (Kopko, 2007), and

2. adolescents may also become dependent on parents for directions and rules throughout their lives (Kopko, 2007).

Authoritarian parents tend to raise girls who are less independent, boys who are more aggressive, and children who appear discontent and extrinsically motivated (Ginsburg & Bronstein 1993).
Authoritative parenting is a style of parenting characterized by parents being warm, but firm towards their child.

Authoritative parents typically establish rules and guidelines that they expect their child to follow, however these parents are open to negotiation and discussion (McGolerick, 2011).

These parents encourage their adolescent to be independent with limits and controls on the adolescent's actions (Kopko, 2007).

Authoritative parents use a type of discipline that is assertive but not restrictive, with the intent being to support rather than punish (McGolerick, 2011).

Adolescents with authoritative parents learn how to negotiate and engage in discussions (Kopko, 2007).

These adolescents end up being socially competent, responsible, and autonomous (Kopko, 2007).

A Common Phrase Used by Authoritarian Parents

5. Authoritative Parenting
Uninvolved parenting is a style of parenting where the parents tend to be as uninvolved as possible in the life of their child; any interaction tends to be kept short, and their child's opinion is neither asked for nor wanted.

Uninvolved parents are not warm towards their child and they do not place any demands on their adolescent.

Uninvolved parents are indifferent to their adolescent's needs, location, experiences at school, and experiences with peers; these types of parents can be uninvolved to the point of neglect.

Adolescents will learn that their parents are more interested in themselves than they are in their children (Kopko, 2007).

These adolescents tend to take on similar behavior of not caring about others which can lead to impulsive behaviors and problems with self-regulation (Kopko, 2007).

Authoritative Parenting is Ideal

6. Uninvolved Parenting

Lack of Interest in Their own Child

The Optimal Parenting Style for Adolescent Development

While there is no one parenting style that is guaranteed to ensure an adolescent develops in a healthy way, there are parenting styles that are healthier than others.

The authoritative parenting style is the style that is most closely associated with healthy adolescent development (Steinberg, 2001). The authoritative parenting style offers a balance between affection, support, and an appropriate degree of parental control in managing adolescent behavior; this provides adolescents with the opportunity to develop into self-reliant individuals with a healthy sense of autonomy within parental limits (Kopko, 2007).

Authoritative Parenting = Adolescent Development

Combination Parenting Styles

Adolescents in a two-parent household can experience a different parenting style from each parent. While each parent using a different parenting style can be beneficial to adolescent development, it can also be disadvantageous.

In households where two different parenting styles are used, it is important that the parents discuss and create a set of rules and a discipline plan that they both agree with and will both enforce regardless of their chosen parenting style (Kopko, 2007).

Some parenting styles like helicopter parenting can be effective during infancy through early childhood, but then prove detrimental to adolescent development if continued into adolescence.

Other parenting styles like authoritative parenting can prove to be beneficial to development from early childhood through early adulthood.

For instance, both parents could decide in advance that if their adolescent breaks curfew, then the adolescent's curfew will be made earlier and the adolescent will be grounded for three days; then if the situation occurs both parents already know that they agree on the consequence and can enforce it together without arguing. It is important in the case of differing parenting styles that both parents aim for consistency in setting and enforcing rules on adolescent behaviors (Kopko, 2007).

Attachment parenting, helicopter parenting, permissive parenting, authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting, and uninvolved parenting can each influence adolescent development in positive or negative ways.

Knowing which parenting style will be the most beneficial to development depends on the personality of each individual adolescent.

Stages of Adolescent Development

My Interest in Parenting Styles

I first developed an interest in the difference in parenting styles and their effect on both children and parents during my time at Southern New Hampshire University studying applied psychology.

My interest was furthered when I began working as a school counselor for children both with and without special needs from kindergarten through fifth grade. It was at my employment as a school counselor that I first got to see up close the effect that children have on their parents' parenting styles and the effect that a parent's parenting style has on the child/children.

I chose to write this article to share the insights I gained from my experiences as a student and a counselor on parenting styles.

References

Ginsburg, G., & Bronstein, P. (1993). Family Factors Related To Children's Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivational Orientation And Academic Performance. Child Development, 1461-1471.

Kopko, K. (2007). Parenting Styles and Adolescents. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/outreach/parenting/research/upload/Parenting-20Styles-20and-20Adolescents.pdf

Marano, H. (2014, January 31). Helicopter Parenting-It's Worse Than You Think. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/nation-wimps/201401/helicopter-parenting-its-worse-you-think

Markham, L. (2014). Pros and cons of the attachment parenting philosophy. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/attachment-parenting/Pros-and-cons

McGolerick, E. (2011, September 13). Definitions of parenting styles. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/819528/5-parenting-styles-for-a-new-generation
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
Psychology Glossary. (2014). Parenting Styles. Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Parenting Styles

Steinberg, L. (2001). We Know Some Things: Parent-Adolescent Relationships In Retrospect And Prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1-19.

Questions & Answers

Question: How can I download this article?

Answer: This article is not available for download as it is my personal work and you may not copy it. If you wish to paraphrase part of my article send me a message and we can discuss it. However, Hubpages only allows original content so you do NOT have permission to copy any of my article.
© 2014 Sefina Hawke
Question: Can I cite this article in my work? What if I paraphrase this article and then cite it?

Answer: You may paraphrase as long as you will not be posting the content online. You do not have my permission to use any direct quotes.

sybol on November 05, 2017:

I agree, children can influence the type of parenting that a parent uses. Parents should pay close attention to their child, their temperament, their personality, and their choices.

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Characteristics of Parenting Styles and Their Effects on Adolescent Development

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I am a special needs counselor for grade K-5 and I have a bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology. I've worked with children for 5+ years. Parenting styles are the different types of ways parents raise their children; most parenting styles are a made up of a mix of the parent's expectations, performance demands, attentiveness to rules, and level of warmth (Psychology Glossary, 2014).

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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10954601/Brian-Laundries-mother-wrote-letter-offered-assist-lawyer-Gabby-Petitos-family-says.html

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The lawyer for Gabby Petito's parents claims that Brian Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, offered to bake him a cake with a saw in it if he was arrested

Riley said the letter was written after Petito's death, and before Laundrie committed suicide. It was found in the van the pair used while traveling

He also claimed that Roberta Laundrie had written 'burn after reading' on the letter's envelope

'It's a pretty interesting, pretty odd letter' Riley said.

Petito's family sued Laundrie's parents accusing them of assisting their son to flee after her murder. Riley suggested that the letter could offer proof

A lawyer claims that Brian Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, wrote him a secret letter after he killed his fiance Gabby Petito where she 'offered to assist him'.

Attorney Patrick Riley, who is representing Petito's parents in a civil suit against the family, appeared on NewsNation, where he hinted that even the lawyer for Laundrie's parents, Steven Bertolino, was surprised by the bombshell letter.

'Within that letter is an offer from Roberta Laundrie to assist her son,' Riley said. 'It's a pretty interesting, pretty odd letter.'

Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt, have filed a lawsuit against Christopher and Roberta Laundrie in a Florida court accusing them of harboring Brian and conspiring to help him flee to avoid taking responsibility for his crime.

Riley suggested that the letter could offer proof.

On the outside of the envelope, which was found in Petito's van which the couple used on a cross-country road trip, Roberta Laundrie had written 'burn after you read this,' Riley told News Nation.

Riley claims that the newly surfaced letter could help prove the Petito family's case against the Laundries.

'There's no date on the letter but it appears to have been written between the time that Gabby was murdered and Brian committed suicide,' Riley said. 'There are scenarios presented by Roberta, for example, 'if you go to jail, I'll bake a cake and put a knife in it or saw in it.'

He said that the evidence was gathered as part of the federal investigation into Gabby's murder.

'My understanding is that the letter at one point had been in the van, but then it was taken from the Laundrie home during the time when the search warrant was executed,' the lawyer said.

Petito was reported missing in September after she and Laundrie embarked on a cross-country road trip.

She was found strangled to death on September 19, 2021 near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. She had been dead for three weeks.

Brian Laundrie went on the run after her body was found and was later discovered dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in October.

The lawyer for Laundrie's parents recently released pages from his diary where he confessed to killing Petito, and claimed that it was 'merciful' and 'what she wanted'.

The letter Roberta Laundrie allegedly wrote to her son was not part of his confession letter and, he said, Bertolino seemed taken aback by its contents.

'The surprise on his face was very interesting when he read the letter,' Riley said.

Riley declined to fully describe the correspondence, saying that he did not want to misquote it.

He said that though he has read the letter, he does not have a copy of it, but has requested it for the purposes of the lawsuit.

'There was also something referenced in that letter about Gabby and I'd rather not go into it any further at this point. The letter will speak for itself.'

It was not an offer by the mom to help Brian commit suicide, the lawyer clarified.

'It was an offer that had to do with Gabby,' he said.

Riley also told NewsNation that the notebook was not the only confession that Brian left, he said. There were two more confessions, one on a 'digital device' according to the news service and a third 'in written form.'

The lawyer had not seen those admissions, but was told about them by FBI investigators.

On Friday, Bertolino released a sensational confession letter that Laundrie had written before he killed himself. His notebook was found in a dry bag beside his body on October 20 last year after he fled to the alligator-infested Carlton Reserve near his home in North Port, Florida.

The 23-year-old wrote that he strangled his 22-year-old fiancé as the result of an 'unexpected tragedy' in Grand Teton National Park after Petito had fallen into a creek and injured herself.

At the start of the confession, he wrote a personal message to Petito, that read: 'I wish I could be at your side, I wish I could be talking to you right now.'

In self-pitying sentences written in smudged blue pen, Laundrie claimed he battled to comfort Petito who was deteriorating, crying in pain and shivering from constant cold.

But eventually he killed her, writing: 'I don't know the extent of Gabby's injuries, only that she was in extreme pain.

'I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistake that I made. I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain.'

There is no indication of how Laundrie apparently cared for Gabby before he ended her life.

In a desperate bid to explain his version of events, he wrote: 'I am sorry to my family, this is a shock to them as well as a terrible greif (sic)....

'Please do not make this harder for them, this occurred as an unexpected tragedy.'

The couple were at the national park after visiting Utah on their trip west in Gabby's 2012 white Ford Transit. They were cataloguing the trip on social media.

Laundrie wrote in his letter: 'Rushing back to our car, trying to cross the steam of spread creek before it got too dark to see, to (sic) cold. I hear a splash and a scream. I could barely see, I couldn't finder her for a moment, shouted her name.

'I found her breathing barely, gasping, any (indistinct as the ink is waterlogged) she was freezing cold, we had just come from the blazing hot national parks in Utah.

'The temperature had dropped to freezing and she was soaking wet. I carried her as far as I could down the stream towards the car, stumbling, exhausted in shock, when my (indistinct) and I knew I couldn't safely carry her.

'I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat, she was so thin, had already been freezing too long. I couldn't at the time realize that I should've started a fire first but I wanted her out of the cold back to the car. From where I started the fire I had no idea where the car might be. Only knew it was across the creek.

'When I pulled Gabby out of the water she couldn't tell me what hurt. She had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger. Her feet hurt, her wrist hurt, but she was freezing, shaking violently, while carrying her she continually made sounds of pain.'

Laundrie then explained that he killed Petito, writing: 'Laying next to her she said little, lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain. She would fall asleep and I would shake her awake fearing she shouldn't close her eyes if she had a concussion.

'She would wake in pain, start her whole painful cycle again, furious that I was the one waking her. She wouldn't let me try to cross the creek, thought like me that the fire would go out in her sleep.'

He then claimed he killed Petito because it was 'merciful', and added: 'I knew I couldn't go on without her.

'I rushed home to spend any time I had left with my family.

'I wanted to drive north and let James or TJ kill me, but I wouldn't want them to spend time in jail over my mistake, even though I'm sure they would have liked to.'

Of his own fate in the 25,000-acre swampland on Florida's west coast, he wrote: 'I'm ending my life not because of fear of punishment, but rather because I can't stand to live another day without her.

'I've lost our whole entire future together, every moment we could have cherished. I'm sorry for everyone's loss. Please don't make life hard for my family, they lost a son and a daughter. The most wonderful (?) girl in the world I'm sorry.

'I have killed myself by this creek in the hope that animals may tear me apart that it might make some of her family happy.'

As an apparent after thought, and in larger writing, he finished with the words: 'Please pick up all of my things. Gabby hated people who litter.'

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Brian Laundrie's mom 'offered to assist him,' Petito lawyer says

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The lawyer for Gabby Petito's parents claims that Brian Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, offered to bake him a cake with a saw in it if he was arrested Riley said the letter was written after Petito's death, and before Laundrie committed suicide.

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https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.lynx.lib.usm.edu/doi/full/10.1111/fare.12623

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The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

By Frances E. Jensen

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The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

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The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults [Jensen, Frances E, Nutt, Amy Ellis] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

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o   If you are a parent of an adolescent already, which parenting style do you think best applies to you? If you are not a parent of an adolescent, which parenting style do you plan or hope to exhibit to your adolescent children and why?

o   Which parenting style did your parents use to parent you during adolescence? How has this affected you as an adult and/or as a parent (if you are a parent)?