Focus on the impact of Cultural influences.

 Authoritarian parenting is widespread in non-Western cultures and among lower socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnic/racial minority parents in the U.S. Moreover, these factors may converge, as immigrant and ethnic minority families often live in poor communities characterized by dangerous neighborhoods, where authoritarian parenting may have protective effects. This has led to questions about whether authoritarian parenting is necessarily maladaptive in some contexts and to the claim that parenting must be assessed in terms of particular cultural values and indigenous concepts. For instance, although Chinese parenting is often described as authoritarian, punitive, and reflecting Confucian, child-centered, and beneficial concerns with strictness and child training. Chinese mothers also have been popularly described as “tiger moms” who employ fierce discipline to facilitate achievement and development.

 Careful empirical research does not support this view, however. Person-centered analyses of Asian American parents’ parenting dimensions revealed four profiles, one of which fit the description of ‘tiger parenting.’ However, this pattern was not common and was associated with poor adjustment, whereas the most typical and adaptive profile reflected supportive parenting. Arab parents in the Middle East also are described as authoritarian, although research does suggest significant variability. Recent person-centered analyses of five parenting dimensions, assessed in a sample of Arab refugee youth living in Jordan, found that the most common profile for both mothers and fathers was consistent with authoritative parenting – that is, low levels of harsh, punitive parenting and psychological control and high levels of support, behavioral control, and parental knowledge of activities, and this profile was associated with better adjustment. These studies provide some support for the claim that components of authoritative parenting are beneficial for child and adolescent development.

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