AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF SOCIALIZATION EFFECTS ON BLACK CHILDREN: SOME BLACK-WHITE COMPARISONS

Diana Baumrind

Child Development · 1972 · 450 citations · 11 references

Concepts

TL;DR

The study explores how parental authority patterns influence preschool behavior in Black children, contrasting them with White norms. The authors analyzed data from 16 Black preschoolers and their families separately to evaluate how parental authority interacts with the broader social context. The analysis found that Black families appeared authoritarian by White standards, yet the most authoritarian Black families produced the most self‑assertive and independent girls, unlike White families.

Abstract

BAUMRIND, DIANA. An Exploratory Study of Socialization Effects on Black Children: Some Black-White Comparisons. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1972, 43, 261-267. In a recent study of current patterns of parental authority and their effects on the behavior of preschool children, the data for the 16 black children and their families were analyzed separately since it was thought that the effect of a given pattern of parental variables might be affected by the larger social context in which the family operates. The major conclusion from this exploratory analysis was that if the black families were viewed by white norms they appeared authoritarian, but that, unlike their white counterparts, the most authoritarian of these families produced the most selfassertive and independent girls.

References

11