There is an emerging consensus among behavioral researchers that parenting styles clearly define the educational, health and social outcomes for children. Consistent evidence from studies point out that authoritative parenting is the ideal style for developing educational and social competence among children. Permissive parenting proves to be a high risk factor for developing aggressive tendencies, engaging in health risk behavior (drugs, alcohol) and is a factor clearly implicated in early dropouts from school. The implications are that family based interventional programs should have a more parent-focused approach for a more desirable outcome.
             Much research has been undertaken in the field of child sociology over the last several decades and we now have better understanding of parenting style and how it influences the personality and the behavioral tendencies in adolescents and young adults. Diana Baumrind was one of the first behavioral researchers who classified parenting styles based on the degrees of parental responsiveness and parental demandingness. Four main parenting types such as Permissive, authoritarian, authoritative and uninvolved are thus used to categorize parents. A study of the different parenting styles and their influence on the overall psychosocial development of the children would provide us better insight into effective as well as defective parenting styles.
             Before proceeding with the literature review, a brief overview of the different parenting styles would be appropriate. First is permissive or indulgent parenting. As Baumrind describes in her work, permissive parents are �more responsive than they are demanding. They are nontraditional and lenient, do not require mature behavior, allow considerable self-regulation, and avoid confrontation" [Baumrind, 1991, pg. 62] Authoritarian parents on the other hand are very strict and demanding. They are � obedience- and status-oriented, and exp...