Maternal authoritative and authoritarian attitudes and mother–child interactions and relationships in urban China

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine how maternal authoritative and authoritarian attitudes were manifested in mother–child interactions and relationships in Chinese culture. A sample of 2-year-old children and their mothers ( N= 166) in Beijing and Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, participated in the study. Information on maternal child-rearing attitudes and mother–child attachment relationships was obtained from mothers’ reports. Data concerning maternal parenting strategies, child behaviours, and child reactions to maternal reunion were collected from observations. The results indicated that maternal authoritative attitudes were associated with low power parenting strategies, whereas maternal authoritarian attitudes were associated with enforcement and prohibitory strategies. It was also found that maternal attitudes were associated with child behaviours through the mediation of parenting strategies. However, maternal attitudes might contribute uniquely to mother–child relationships, over and above maternal behaviours. The study provided evidence on the internal coherence of authoritative and authoritarian patterns and their differential significance for child development in urban China.