ABSTRACT
Parent-child relationships play an important role in ensuring human well-being and functioning. In this chapter, the nature of the parent-child relationship is examined through a close analysis of empirical research in India on the dimensions of care, control and autonomy. While parent-child relations in India are marked by warmth and care, examining the dimension of control revealed the asymmetric nature of the relationship. Children’s abilities to negotiate in familial contexts was characterised by interdependence and autonomy. The interplay of cultural, historical, socio-political and economic forces, along with the parental cognitive factors, emerged salient in mediating the manifestation of care, control and autonomy. This implies the need for continuous reformulation of the parent-child relationship with changing cognitions, contexts and culture.
