Authoritarian Child Rearing, Parental Locus of Control, and the Child's Behaviour Style

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Abstract
In this project, we examined the relationships among child rearing, parental locus of control about child rearing, and the child's behaviour style as perceived by parents. Both father and mother of 120 children (9-12 years old) participated. We discriminated among two types of behaviour styles, externalising (undercontrol of impulses) and internalising behaviour (overcontrol of emotions). Parents who perceived their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser, had a weak internal locus of control. Parents with a weak internal locus of control are more authoritarian, especially when they were more inclined to perceive their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser. Also, the child's behaviour style was related to child rearing. Perceived externalising child behaviour was positively related to authoritarian parental behaviour, especially for parents with a weak internal locus of control. Parents of internalising children were less authoritarian, especially when their locus of control was internal.