Authoritarian Parenting Styles

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In their article, Eva Pomerantz and QianWang discuss the contrast between West and East Asian cultures while both exhibit authoritarian parenting styles. “Western and East Asian countries have distinct cultures that shape the effects of parental control on children’s development leading the effects to be less negative in East Asian contexts” (Pomerantz & Wang, 2009). Western culture emphasizes its autonomy whereas Eastern culture emphasizes co-dependence. Although both cultures seek psychological control over their children, each culture interprets it differently. According to Pomerantz and Wang, in East Asian culture, there are less negative effects in a collectivist nature (2009). In other words, when parents control their children’s personal decisions and issues, there are no negative effects because the child seizes the opportunity to synchronize with their parents by taking their decisions as their own. As a part of good parenting, their ultimate goal of control is to support their children, which East Asian …show more content…

In addition, the relationship is controlling and there is only one direction of communication – i.e. communication is only being directed from the parent to the child. Now in reference to Hofstede, the West is more individualistic whereas the East is more collectivistic. This plays a role in how children of a culture interpret their parents’ controlling nature. The West sees it as a violation of their autonomy, where the culture breeds individuals to be independent and self-reliant. The East views parental control as an expression of love and support. Furthermore, collectivism explains why East Asian children see control in this way – the interconnectedness between people plays an important role in a person’s identity and it is important for group members to support each

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