Introduction
Bullying is a significant issue in the modern world because it affects numerous children and adolescents. Repetitiveness and an imbalance of power are the top distinguishing features of this phenomenon. There is no doubt that bullying can lead to adverse consequences, but the current focus is on how this issue emerges and what role parents play in this process. Thus, the paper will explain why authoritarian and permissive parenting styles promote bullying among children and adolescents, while an authoritative one reduces this behavior prevalence.
Definition of Terms
To begin with, one should define the basic terms that will be used in this paper. Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves the use of power, coercion, threat, and others. That is why it is possible to talk about a victim (a person who has bullied) and a perpetrator (a person who bullies others) (Thomas et al. 437). This information demonstrates that the phenomenon under consideration includes two parties, and one of them initiates aggressive actions.
Since the given topic usually refers to children and adolescents, it is evident that their parents hold a portion of responsibility because the adults affect the growth and development of young individuals. Numerous parents follow various approaches in rearing their children, and the choice of a specific parenting style can be of significance. This term refers to a set of strategies and decisions that parents take to interact with their sons and daughters. Georgiou et al. state that these styles focus on the degree of demandingness and responsiveness (29). The scholars comment on “the authoritative style (high demandingness and high responsiveness), the permissive style (high responsiveness, low demandingness), and the authoritarian style (high demandingness, low responsiveness)” (Georgiou et al. 29). The three result in children’s different involvement in bullying behaviors, and the following section will explain why it happens.
Correlation between Bullying and Parenting Style
Numerous scholarly articles focus on the issue under analysis and offer valuable information. For example, a systematic review by Masud et al. attempts to identify whether there is a connection between a parenting style and aggression among children and adolescents. The authors stipulate that authoritative parenting positively influences individuals’ psychological development, while permissive and authoritarian styles promote aggression (Masud et al. 1015). Since it has already been mentioned that bullying is a manifestation of aggressive behavior, one can state that the two latter styles make children perpetrators. Thomas et al. also support this idea by saying that an authoritarian parenting style is a significant factor predicting that a child will involve in bullying behaviors (440). These data denote that permissive and authoritative parenting styles should include some elements that make children express aggression and disrespect toward their peers, and the following paragraphs will comment on them.
When it comes to identifying a link between parenting styles and bullying, it is reasonable to concentrate on the degrees of responsiveness and demandingness that have been discussed above. On the one hand, high responsiveness and low demandingness of the permissive style result in the fact that children feel a total absence of authority. Consequently, such young individuals can start bullying their peers since the parents did not teach them how to control their aggression. Such boys and girls are usually perpetrators because they are accustomed to behaving as they want without considering other people’s feelings and emotions.
On the other hand, the authoritarian style is based on high demandingness and low responsiveness, and this strategy can also result in adverse consequences. This style is often accompanied by corporal punishment, negative communication, and other harmful behaviors (de Oliveira et al. 41). Such strategies significantly affect children, making them experience constant fear. As a result, such children often become bullying victims because their parents have already harmed their psychology. Simultaneously, Dickson et al. admit that the authoritarian style is in close connection with derisive parenting that involves humiliating children, and this strategy fosters anger (1567). This information denotes that the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles can make children bullying victims and perpetrators.
There is a clear explanation of the ideas above, and the given paragraph is going to present it. It refers to the fact that the two parenting styles above are manifestations of a vertical dimension of cultural values. De Oliveira et al. explain that this dimension promotes hierarchy and inequality (29). Consequently, the given parenting styles contribute to the fact that children feel their superiority or inferiority, which affects their behavior and involvement in bullying. That is why it is rational to promote a horizontal dimension. According to de Oliveira et al., this phenomenon welcomes interdependence and equality (30). Consequently, this dimension focuses on the values that minimize the risk that children and adolescents will involve in bullying behaviors. The following section will comment on whether there is a parenting style that can limit the prevalence of the issue under consideration.
As has been stated above, the authoritative parenting style relies on high demandingness and high responsiveness. It means that parents actively and productively participate in rearing their children, and scientific evidence demonstrates that this strategy is effective. Firstly, Masud et al. admit that the given parenting style contributes to children’s normal psychological development and behavior (1015). It is so because parents do not use mental and physical pressure while interacting with their children. Secondly, this parenting style is a supportive strategy, and it is even effective in reducing bullying in cyberspace (Legate et al. 399). This fact demonstrates that the authoritative style teaches children to control their emotions and respects others.
Conclusion
Bullying is an important phenomenon in the modern world since it refers to the psychological and physical well-being of children and adolescents. It involves victims and perpetrators, and a relationship between them is possible due to an imbalance of power. Evidence from scholarly articles has demonstrated that parenting styles play a significant role in determining whether children will involve in the behavior under analysis. The paper has revealed that the permissive and authoritarian styles promote bullying, while the authoritative one helps young individuals restrain from the action. It happens because the first two styles promote the vertical dimension that welcomes hierarchy, while the latter type focuses on the horizontal one that relies on equality.
This information is significant since it shows how people can reduce the spread of bullying among children and adolescents. Parents should understand that their approach to rearing their children influences the whole society. That is why it is reasonable to draw attention to the problem at the current moment to prevent it from becoming of a catastrophic volume in the future. Thus, the presence of scholarly articles demonstrates that some actions are taken, but further efforts are also necessary.
Works Cited
De Oliveira, Wanderlei A., et al. “Family Variables and Bullying among Brazilian Adolescents: A Mixed Study.” Psicologia Conductual, vol. 27, no. 1, 2019, pp. 41-53.
Dickson, Daniel J., et al. “Derisive Parenting Fosters Dysregulated Anger in Adolescent Children and Subsequent Difficulties with Peers.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 48, no. 8, 2019, pp. 1567-1579.
Georgiou, Stelios N., et al. “Cultural Values as Mediators between Parenting Styles and Bullying Behavior at School.” Social Psychology or Education: An International Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, 2018, pp. 27-50.
Legate, Nicole, et al. “Parenting Strategies and Adolescents’ Cyberbullying Behaviors: Evidence from a Preregistered Study of Parent-Child Dyads.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence, vol. 48, no. 2, 2019, pp. 399-409.
Masud, Hamid, et al. “Parenting Styles and Aggression among Young Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Literature.” Community Mental Health Journal, vol. 55, no. 6, 2019, pp. 1015-1030.
Thomas, Hannah J., et al. “Why Do Children and Adolescents Bully Their Peers? A Critical Review of Key Theoretical Frameworks.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 53, no. 5, 2018, pp. 437-451.