Parental autonomy support in relation to preschool aged children’s behavior: Examining positive guidance, negative control, and responsiveness

This study evaluated the relationship between parental autonomy support and preschool-aged children’s display of autonomy. Specifically, we examined if mothers’ and fathers’ use of positive guidance, negative control, and responsiveness during parent-child interactions predicted children’s autonomous behavior. One hundred families comprised of mothers, fathers, and their children participated. Parent-child dyads were filmed engaging in an unstructured play task and interactions were coded using the Parent-Child Interaction System. Mothers’ use of negative control and father’s use of positive guidance, negative control, and responsiveness predicted children’s displays of autonomy, whereas mothers’ positive guidance and responsiveness did not. The results offer insight into how parents play unique roles in promoting their children’s autonomy, which has implications for practitioners and researchers who work with families. Our findings provide examples of behaviors that parents can employ to promote their children’s autonomy.