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Cited by 26Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentEarly Childhood Education and DevelopmentAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

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

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Linkiewich, Delane, Martinovich, Vincenza VA, Rinaldi, Christina M, Howe, Nina, Gokiert, Rebecca·2021·Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
DOI 10.1177/1359104521999762PMC PMC8264621
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Abstract

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.

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  • Secure and supportive parenting environments provide opportunities for safe exploration and playful engagement, whereas controlling or emotionally distant caregiving may constrain playful expression.

    “Secure and supportive parenting environments provide opportunities for safe exploration and playful engagement, whereas controlling or emotionally distant caregiving may constrain playful expression (Fraley, 2002;Linkiewich et al., 2021;Wilhelm et al., 2016).”

    From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Linkiewich et al., 2021

    The Discussion (Overview of findings) reports that autonomy-supportive parenting was associated with greater child autonomy during free play, while negative control predicted less autonomy and inhibited exploratory behavior. The paper does not establish that the environment was secure or that emotionally distant caregiving constrained playful expression; its measured outcome was autonomy during play. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Parental controlling behaviors inhibit children's exploratory behaviors and autonomy development, whereas autonomy-supportive parenting promotes engagement in play.

    “Research supports the notion that parental controlling behaviors inhibit children's exploratory behaviors and autonomy development, whereas autonomy-supportive parenting promotes engagement in play (Linkiewich et al., 2021).”

    From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Linkiewich et al., 2021

    The Discussion (Overview of findings; page unavailable) says parental negative control predicted less autonomy during play and states that controlling behavior inhibits exploration and autonomy development. It also reports that autonomy-supportive behavior was associated with children directing play, but it does not establish that such parenting promotes engagement in play itself; the measured outcome was autonomy during play. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Kerig P. K. (2001). Introduction and overview: Conceptual issues in family observational research. In Kerig P. K. Lindahl K. M. (Eds.), Family observational coding systems: Resources for systemic research (pp. 1– 22). Erlbaum.
  2. Mercer S. Gryczkowski M. Jordan S. S. Mercer S. H. (2018). Moderators of the relations between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting practices and children’s prosocial behaviour. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 49, 409– 419. 10.1007/s10578-017-0759-3 28952046 · DOI

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Authors
Linkiewich, D., Martinovich, V. V., Rinaldi, C. M., Howe, N., & Gokiert, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Alberta (CA)
  • Concordia University (CA)
Corresponding author
Rinaldi, Christina M
ORCID
Venue
Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-03-10
Volume
26
Issue
3
Pages
810-822
ISSN
  • 1359-1045 (ISSN-L)
  • 1461-7021
DOI
10.1177/1359104521999762
PMC
PMC8264621
OpenAlex
W3134165162
Cited by
26
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2
FWCI
1.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
social sciences and humanities research council of canada (435-2014-0794)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
parental autonomy support, preschool children, autonomous behavior, positive guidance, negative control, parental responsiveness, parent-child interaction, mothers, fathers, gender differences in parenting, free play
MeSH terms
Child, Preschool, Fathers, Female, Humans, Male, Mothers, Parent-Child Relations, Parents, Schools

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