ABSTRACT
The research tradition on parenting style in relation to parental authority is rich and long established. It is another factor that has a major bearing on the development of autonomy in childhood and adolescence. Excessively controlling behaviour by parents, and submissiveness on the part of children and adolescents, has long been associated with the development of internalising disorders. Parental psychological control is a factor that is seen as impacting in a very negative way on the child's sense of self. The child's exposure to contingent parental approval has been seen as a very significant factor. It is seen as leading to a sense of helplessness. Dysfunctional perfectionism was found to be associated with parental psychological control, authoritarian parenting and family enmeshment. G. L. Flett reviews further studies that found that in families with young children parental perfectionism was associated with parental stress, dissatisfaction and distress.
