| Baumrind's (1971) model suggests that an authoritative parenting style is globally optimal. The relationship-empowerment (REP) model (Balswick, Balswick, Piper, & Piper, 2003) advocates a more situationally-specific approach, emphasizing the flexible use of teaching skills that adapt to the child's developing ability. Scales developed by Balswick et al. to operationalize both models, together with a measure of parental satisfaction, were employed with an availability sample of 328 parents. Results indicated that parents who were higher in the parenting style dimensions of relationship and guidance, or the REP skills, also reported themselves as more satisfied in relationship to their children. Intercorrelations between the scales, however, raised concerns about their validity in operationalizing the two parenting models. |
