Psychological Maltreatment

To the Editor.—In their technical report, “The Psychological Maltreatment of Children,” Kairys, Johnson, and the AAP Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect1 consider “an authoritative (emphasis added) parenting style” as an attribute contributing to psychological maltreatment. As a card-carrying authoritative parent, I was shocked. In fact, what they meant to say (I hope) was “an authoritarian parenting style.” To reassure myself, I went to the source, the Garbarino and Vondra chapter cited in the technical report. In their chapter, Garbarino and Vondra2 discuss the authoritarian personality, characterized by rigidity, conformity, intolerance of ambiguity, and unrealistic goal-setting.On the other hand, authoritative means, “Having or arising from authority; official; of acknowledged accuracy or excellence; highly reliable ”3 According to Grobman,4 Baumrind’s original description of authoritative parenting includes directing the child’s activities in a rational way and encouraging verbal give and take. The authoritative parent exerts firm control without being overly restrictive, recognizing that adults have special rights while acknowledging the child’s individual interests and special ways. The authoritative parent affirms the child’s present qualities but also sets standards for future conduct, using reasoning as well as power.Authoritarian parenting is profoundly different from authoritative parenting. The former has been associated with adverse developmental outcomes. The latter, according to the literature and personal experience, has been known to produce great kids.In Reply.—We appreciate the letter from Dr Kotch that clearly explains the difference between the authoritative versus authoritarian styles of parenting. Dr Kotch is correct that it is an authoritarian parenting style that contributes to psychological maltreatment. We apologize for the oversight.