Children's Conceptions of Parental Authority

TISAK, MARIE S. Children's Conceptions of Parental Authority. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1986, 57, 166-176. Children's conceptions of parental authority were examined. 120 children (ages 6, 8, and 10 years) were administered an interview to assess the boundaries of parental authority. Subjects were asked to make evaluations about events pertaining to the restraint of behavior and events pertaining to the enforcement or maintenance of parental rule systems. Social events that differ in content (stealing, family chores, and friendship choice) were used to examine whether there is heterogeneity in children's evaluations of the dimensions of authority. The results show that children draw boundaries to parental authority and that children's notions of authority are heterogeneous with respect to the content of the social event.