The Question of Parental Authority

Abstract

The question of parental authority has been the focus of social interest for a long time. However, in recent times, it has gained greater attention from the public. Due to the opacity concerning the concept’s nature, the goal of this article is to establish detailed and profound conceptualization for the construct of parental authority while relying on relevant theoretical and empirical literature. An analysis of the concept has shown that it is a bi-dimensional theoretical construct (power and legitimacy), with its dimensions sharing four main aspects: (a) parental power: parental demandingness, and parental potential influence on the child’s behaviour, (b) legitimate parental authority: the parent’s right to demand, and the child’s obligation to obey. Parental authority is expressed in parent-child conflicts (disagreements), while its extent varies according to the child’s age and to the specific context in which it appears.