Intergenerational continuities and discontinuities in parenting styles

In the present research 286 mothers and 274 fathers were surveyed regarding perceptions of their own parenting styles, and recollections of the parenting styles used by their parents. Perceived intergenerational continuities were established for authoritarian and permissive parenting and, while same gender continuities were stronger than cross-gender continuities, significant independent cross-gender similarities were found between both fathers and daughters, and mothers and sons. Perceptions of intergenerational similarities were stronger between fathers and sons than mothers and daughters, emphasising fathers’ important parenting role with their sons. Intergenerational discontinuities were found for authoritative parenting, with results suggesting that the meaning and interpretation of authoritative parenting may vary between parents and children. Current parents also perceived themselves to be less authoritarian and more authoritative and permissive than their own parents, indicating that intergenerational transmission of parenting characteristics may be moderated by a sociocultural shift from more authoritarian to more democratic child rearing practices.