Fluid authority – A qualitative exploration of manifestations of parental authority in Slovenia

The aim of this article is to investigate how parental authority works in families in Slovenia. We examined in what ways is parental authority asserted through parental demands, expectations and rules about adolescents' freedoms and limitations through parental control as well as sanctioning...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Metka Kuhar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Slovenian Psychologists' Association 2010-05-01
Series:Psihološka Obzorja
Subjects:
Online Access:http://psiholoska-obzorja.si/arhiv_clanki/2010_1/kuhar.pdf
Description
Summary:The aim of this article is to investigate how parental authority works in families in Slovenia. We examined in what ways is parental authority asserted through parental demands, expectations and rules about adolescents' freedoms and limitations through parental control as well as sanctioning. Secondly, we investigated how do adolescents and post-adolescents react to parental authority claims and measures. The study shows that parental authority is accommodated in ways that comply with the general culture of intergenerational negotiations. Parents develop and use predominantly direct, subtle influence strategies which are being legitimized by children. This is especially true for the investigated domain of school performance with prevailing congruent parental and children's expectations. In household chores domain, where rules are not interiorized by children, parental authority is being asserted in more direct, quazi-democratic ways.
ISSN:2350-5141