Society, Parenting Style and the Achivements of the Younger Generation

Our society has been changing. This, however, is not only due to natural development, but also the shifting of beliefs and values of different generations. While younger generations equip themselves for hypothetical future challenges, their parents still exert influence upon them. As parents adopt different methodologies of parenting, their impact upon younger generations inevitably varies. As society transforms and develops, so do expectations upon our youth. Societal expectations upon adolescents are high, but not all adolescents are on par with the current societal situation. A person will be regarded as a failure to family and peers if they cannot achieve often far-fetched expectations, such as completing tertiary education and earning sufficient income for both personal use and for their family.

A byproduct of these ‘perfectionist expectations’ is stress, and this makes people change. While adolescents attempt to fit into society, they must overcome disparate difficulties. One of the most important requirements for an adolescent's social life is adaptability. This can be influenced by parent-child relationships. The multidimensional changes of adolescence - in physicality, in psychology, in cognition and societal expectations - render this period of life deeply strenuous. Instead of ignoring their problems, adolescents have to learn to confront them and attempt appropriate solutions. They need to understand their own identity, learning adaptive behaviors in order to establish firm and mutual relationships, show positive reactions, avoid behaviors that would lead to negative consequences, and enhance their social communication skills to a point where they can live easily in society and get adapted to it. Family, being an important social institution, has an initial impact on how adolescents are raised. Family relationships have deep effects on different aspects of life. To develop a stable personality, adolescents need both parental affection and emotional security, so that they can base their lives on two feelings: being compliant with their parents, and feeling loved and secure.

Family is the fundamental structure of society, and plays an important role in one's life. The importance of the family as a social structure is indisputable. Although children are easily influenced by society and peers, they are more so influenced by the family. The influence that a family has on the child and its creative, cultural, social, and moral development is very crucial. Therefore, a correct, balanced relationship between parents and children is one of the crucial factors that influence a child’s physical and mental health. A balanced relationship, meanwhile, should show mutual respect, understanding and affection. Research has shown that interaction between children and their parents is the fundamental factor affecting healthy character development in childhood. The relationship between parents and children, or ‘parenting style’, serves different purposes - including moral and psychological training, identification, growth and development of talents, skills, and familiarisation with the rules and norms of the society from parents’ perspectives.

Data from many investigations indicate that authoritarian, permissive and neglectful parenting styles are negatively associated with school performance. In contrast, an authoritative parenting style has been consistently related to enhanced academic performance. This pattern of results suggests that warm, disciplined parenting with clearly-defined limits are more effective to successful academic achievement than permissiveness, strict obedience, punishment, or neglect. The emotional environment created in a family with an authoritative parenting style supports the development of many abilities and skills that give a boost in academic achievement, such as self regulation, rule-following, communication of needs and opinions, independence and cooperation with peers and adults. The benefits of authoritative parenting styles on academic achievement have been consistently reported on in different countries and cultures.

Some studies indicate many parenting styles are significantly influenced by cultural differences and social values. Specifically, there is evidence that some cultures are more tolerant of authoritarian parenting style than others. For instance, parents from Malaysia,China and Indian ethnic groups promote authoritarian parenting, and do not regard it as an unfavorable style of parenting. College students from Nigeriaraised under authoritative,authoritarian parenting systems, do not show significant discrepancies in their competency, need for achievement, and locus of control. It has also been found that the relationship of authoritarian parenting style and academic achievement was different among ethnic groups in western countries: it was less negative in Hispanic families than in non-Hispanic families, while the relationship of authoritative parenting to academic achievement was less-stronger in Asian minorities families than in non-Hispanic families.

As seen from above, the effect of contrasting parenting styles on the younger generations’ achievements is still debatable for the coming years. However, to a large extent, parenting styles are affecting the achievements of the younger generations. However, it’s proven that culture plays a significant role so that in some cultural contexts, specific parenting styles can be valid, appropriate and effective, but obsolete in others. As many studies indicate, western societies have a tendency to favor authoritative parenting styles as the appropriate method to raise children with good mental health, and, as Western values and methods spread globally, many young parents from different cultures are beginning to adopt such values to parent their kids. It is also important to keep in mind that, in addition to culture, gender and individual differences also influence parental styles. Although categorising parenting styles may not be applicable in every situations as there are anomalies, most studies show that children and adolescents require a balanced relationship with their parents where warmth (acceptance-rejection) and control (permissiveness-strictness) are managed according to cultural context and the personal demands and needs of the adolescent. Parents should also have a greater awareness of the resources that may help them to gain skills which will provide a parenting environment more conducive for higher achievements. Thus, apart from gaining greater resource capital, parents can help improve their child’s academic achievements.