Beliefs as moderators.

 Harsh or physical discipline, yelling or scolding, expressing disappointment, and shaming, all of which are hallmarks of authoritarian parenting, have detrimental effects on child adjustment in cultures around the world. For instance, parents who spank generally believe that it socializes positive behavior. However, large-scale studies in the U.S. and in cultures varying in their use of these practices show that spanking generally has negative effects for children’s adjustment and social competence, although these practices are less harmful (although still negative) when they are more culturally normative. 

A recent study found that parental shaming is more culturally normative in both rural and urban China than in an urban sample in Canada and that it was seen as less psychologically harmful among rural Chinese (where it was more normative) than Canadians, but there were also interesting developmental trends. Across groups, 10–11 and 13–14 year-olds evaluated shaming more negatively than 7–8 year-olds and viewed it as more negative for their psychological well-being. 

Beliefs about parental authority legitimacy also influence responses to parenting. Adolescents view parental authority as illegitimate when parents control personal issues (e. g., pertaining to privacy, bodily control, and personal preferences), see also Kobak, in press (this issue).

 Across cultures, children develop a personal domain because it satisfies basic needs for autonomy, although there are cultural variations in its content and boundaries. However, individual differences in legitimacy beliefs mediate or moderate links between parenting and adolescent adjustment.

 Studies have found that parent supervision and monitoring leads to greater adolescent disclosure about their activities to parents, but only when legitimacy beliefs are strong. Furthermore, stronger authority legitimacy beliefs regarding free-time activities (which are generally considered personal issues) are associated with adolescents’ greater compliance with parents’ rules. 

Legitimacy beliefs also mediate the association between parenting styles and juvenile delinquency, with authoritative parenting associated with stronger legitimacy beliefs and in turn, less juvenile delinquency over time. The opposite was found for authoritarian parenting. These studies highlight adolescents’ role as active agents in their development.

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