ABSTRACT
F A M I L Y S T R U C T U R E is one of the more important determinants of achieve ment motivation and skills.1 Many of the personal qualities and skills that enable chil dren to meet standards of excellence-selfreliance, competent judgment, problem-solv ing ability, and a questioning mind-are acquired in parent-child relations providing guidance and yet allowing the child freedom to develop independent mastery and respon sible decision-making.2 Parental dominance, on the other hand, often produces passivity, rebelliousness, and dependency. Domination is characterized by "a rigidity or inflexibil ity of purpose, . . . an unwillingness to admit the contribution of another's experi-
enees, desires, purposes or judgment in one's determining of goals which concern oth ers."3 Responsibility and confidence in in dependence are acquired through guided opportunities in independent problem solv ing and activity, and parental domination during late childhood and in adolescence largely denies these experiences.