Parent-Child Relationship: Developmental Theories and Mental Health

This essay examines the crucial influence of the parent-child relationship on a child's social, emotional, and physical development, emphasizing its impact on mental health. It explores various developmental theories, including those of Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lawrence Kohlberg, to understand human behavior and development, particularly during childhood. The essay discusses different parenting styles such as authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive, and how these styles affect a child's behavior and well-being. It also addresses attachment styles (secure, avoidant, ambivalent) and their role in shaping the parent-child bond. Drawing on research findings, the essay highlights the long-term consequences of different parenting approaches and attachment patterns on a child's mental health, behavior, and overall psychological adjustment. The essay also references a research study on parenting styles and their influence on children's behaviors.

Running head: PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The relationship between a parent and a child is one that helps in the social, physical
and emotional development of the child. It is a bond that is experienced by every parent as
well as the child. A strong and emotional relationship between the parent and the child leads
to the development of the personality of the child as well as his/her behaviour. Studies show
that a positive relationship between the parent and the child leads to outcomes that are
positive (Rostad and Whitaker 2016). The involvement of the parent with his child will
determine how the child will be when he grows. A child who is raised with feelings of
emotions and security have a better chance of development than the ones who are deprived of
it. Discussing the role of parenting is an essential subject that should be discussed and given
importance as the future of the child depends on the way their parents bring them up. A
mentally, emotionally and physically healthy child will be able to regulate his emotions under
any circumstances (Vieira et al. 2016). Therefore, the essay aims to discuss the relationship
between the parent and the child and how the relationship between the two shapes and
contributes to understanding the mental health of the child.
Good parenting will always help the child to exhibit optimistic as well as confidence
when it comes to the social behaviour of the child. It also motivates the child to deal with
problems in a positive way. The relationship between a parent and a child goes through many
stages such as- infancy, toddlerhood, preschool, adolescence and adulthood (Thrane et al.
2016). It should be noted that every child is brought up differently; therefore, the parenting
style and the experience of the child will not be the same for every child (Wong et al. 2017).
However, looking at various developmental theories will help in building a healthy
relationship with the child. The relationship between the parent as well as the child can be
understood by understanding the various developmental theories propagated by- Sigmund
Freud, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and lastly Lawrence Kohlberg.

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The developmental theories provide a clear understanding of human behaviour,
development as well as thought and ideas. Each theory under developmental psychology
helps an individual to understand a specific aspect of human behaviour. Most of the
developmental theories concentrate on childhood, as this is the time when most of the
changes take place. The developmental psychologists have studied a variety of academic
areas such as social, cognitive, emotional and biological processes that have helped them to
arrive at a particular conclusion (Parent et al. 2016). Sigmund Freud believed that in every
stage of the child the latter has their specific set of needs as well as demands and each of the
above is based on a specific part of the body and has a sexual base. He offered dynamic as
well as the psychosocial definition of human behaviour (Mitchell and Black 2016).
According to him, a child goes through different stages of sexual development such as- oral,
anal, phallic and lastly genital. In the oral phase, the child licks and sucks his/her thumb. In
the anal stage, the child is trained to excrete where he can now control his bowel movements.
Furthermore, the phallic stage is when the child starts to differentiate herself/himself
concerning gender. And lastly in the genital stage, the sexual, as well as other adult activities,
begins to dominate (Barford Geerardyn and Van 2018). All these stages are developed with
the care and affection that the child receives fro his parents. He believed that the events that
occur in childhood have significant effects on adulthood that helps in shaping the mental as
well as the personality of every individual.
Erik Erikson too highlighted eight stages of psychosocial development. According to
him, during each stage, the conflicting ideas must be successfully resolved so that the child
can become more confident that will contribute to his mental growth. He writes that the Ego
delivers positive contributions that help in the development of the child’s ideas, skills and
attitudes. From birth to the first year the child develops a sense of trust towards his caregivers
and are dependent on them, but neglect or deprivation from affection may lead to the feelings

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of mistrust and resentment (Knight 2017). Secondly, the child during toddlerhood tries to
explore the things that he sees and begin to show preferences, and at the same time, he
develops feelings of shame. Therefore, the child tries to balance between autonomy and
shame. During preschool, the child starts taking the initiative for his activities and ones who
are unable to develop a feeling of guilt. Next, the child develops feelings of inferiority and
superiority, depending on the task they can do. During adolescence, the child develops a
sense of self and looks for his identity, but at the same time, he is confused about his
character as well. Next, the child develops a sense of intimacy with others and those who do
not improve this intimacy experiences isolation (Syed and McLean 2017). These stages help
in the development of the child both mentally as well as physically.
Piaget classified four stages of child development- sensorimotor, preoperational,
concrete operational and formal operational stages (Meadows 2017). He believed that
children take an active role in the process of learning, performing and making observations.
As they interact with others, they gain knowledge. All these stages are developed through
healthy interaction of the parent with the child (Meadows 2017). Lawrence Kohlberg
expanded the earlier stages that were proposed by Piaget. He, unlike Piaget and other
developmental theorists, explained the moral development of the child. According to him,
preconventional, conventional and postconventional are the stages of moral development
(Sanders 2018). During the first stage, the child controls his morality externally. The child
obeys to the authoritative figure. In the second stage, the child’s sense of morality is
connected with the personal as well as social relationships. They follow the rules because
they realise the importance of it in society. In the last stage, the moral principles of the child
become more abstract, and they begin to question (May 2017). This sense of morality is
developed by the relationship between the child and his parents.

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Diana Baumrind was a developmental psychologist who is known for her four
theories of parenting styles. She proposed different stages of parenting styles such as as-
authoritative, permissive and authoritarian (Minaei and Nikzad 2017). In the latter form of
parenting the child is expected to follow the strict rules that are set up by the parents. If the
child is unable to do so, then he gets punished. The authoritarian parents do not explain or
give reasons for the strict rules that are forced to follow. These parents are not responsive to
their children. They have high expectations from their children that mounts pressure on the
latter. These parents are often described as dominating. On the other hand, authoritative
parenting is the best way to nurture and take care of the child (Estlein, R., 2016). It is not that
they do not implement any rules on their child, but their way of parenting is more democratic
than the former. These parents are responsive to their children as well as their needs. They
too expect a lot from their children, but at the same time, they provide adequate support,
warmth as well as feedback. Instead of punishing the child, they are more forgiving that has a
positive impact on the mind of the child. They are assertive but not restrictive, supportive
instead of punitive. Such love and support from the authoritative parents help the child to
develop their skills of independence, self-regulation and control (Singh 2017). Furthermore,
the permissive style of parenting is often referred to as indulgent. These parents do not take
any initiative to discipline their child and have little expectations from their children. They
are more responsive instead of being demanding. They do not expect any mature behaviour
from their child (Sarwar, S., 2016). Their communication with their children is more than any
other parenting styles, and they are more like a friend to their children.
Authoritative parenting is considered to be the most efficient way of nurturing the
child as its neither too indulgent nor too authoritarian. There are also various forms of parent-
child relationships that help in the development of the child and contribute to their mental
development as well. They are- secure, avoidant and ambivalent relationship. These

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attachment styles promote the attachment between the parents as well as the child. This
attachment is not only based on the responsiveness of the parents to their child but also on the
bodily closeness that a child experiences with his parents. When the child is given love and
affection and is brought up in a secure environment, then this attachment is known as a
secure one. The child depends entirely on his parents. The parents also help the children to
engage in non-verbal emotions that help in the development of their brain and nervous system
(Lieberman, Ippen and Dimmler 2018). Avoidant attachment, on the other hand, is when the
parents do not give the necessary security to their child and do not respond to the need of
their children. They have to live independently and get very little support from their children.
This type of attachment leads to mental problems and problems with development as well as
adjustment. They also go through poor social skills and are impulsive as well as disobedient
(Lieberman Ippen and Dimmler 2018). Ambivalent relationship, on the other hand, is where
the response of the parents are not consistent. This lowers the self-confidence of the child that
affects them mentally.
According to the attachment theory proposed by Bowlby, children are biologically
born to remain close to their parents. When the child is with the caregiver, he is aware that is
needs will be fulfilled, and he will be protected from uncomfortable situations. The child in
this attachment theory knows that he will be safe and secure around the caregiver; therefore,
he can explore the world as he is aware that he caregiver will always be there around him
(Holmes 2017). The attachment theory further states that the child is also psychologically
connected with his parents. As the mother feeds the child as an infant, the child develops a
strong relationship with her.
Therefore the parent-child relationship is essential in understanding the development
of the child. It has a significant impact on the mental development of the child. Freud
believed that the child’s psychological development depends on his relationship that they

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agree with their parents. For instance, if an adult female is unable to form an intimate
relationship with a male, they must have experienced an unhealthy relationship with her
father (Beauchaine and Hinshaw 2017). Similarly, the theory of Erikson states that if the
child is given care and affection, then he will be mentally healthy. Attachment, as well as
parenting styles, contributes a lot to the mental development of the child. If the child does not
feel secure as a child, then as an adult, he will not have the confidence to face different
situations ((Beauchaine and Hinshaw 2017). Critical parenting, on the other hand, leads the
child to depression and anxiety. They develop a lot of behavioural, mental and psychological
problems.
This can further be illustrated by taking an example of the research that was
conducted to see the parenting style of father and mother as well as their separate role in
parenting that affects the behaviour of the child. Fifty-nine families had volunteered for the
research. They were questionnaires that talked about the three parenting styles discussed
above. Parents had to fill as well as mark their parenting style according to the marking
criteria. The results were based on three parts- descriptive, congruency between the rating of
parents of their parenting styles and lastly the joint contribution of both the fathers as well as
mothers in the development of the child (Rinaldi and Howe 2011). In the descriptive
statistics, a wide range of variability in the three parenting styles was seen. The findings
showed that authoritative parenting has the most votes and has a more external impact. Then
the congruency was conducted between authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting.
Self and partner parenting styles were also correlated. Mother’s authoritative style was
connected with that of the father. The report of father’s regarding the mother’s authoritative,
authoritarian as well as permissive styles were correlated with the statements of the mother’s.
It was concluded that both the parents share similar parenting traits, but at the same time, they
have separate experience with their children (Rinaldi. and Howe 2011). The negative

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behaviour of the child was negatively and moderately connected with the authoritative style
of the father and positively connected with father's authoritarian style. The adaptive
behaviour is developed by father’s authoritative style. On the other hand, the permissive and
authoritarian parenting of the mother and father respectively affected the externalizing
behaviour of the child (Rinaldi and Howe 2011). Therefore it can be said that both the parents
contribute separately in shaping the mental health of the child through their parenting styles
(Tavassolie et al 2016). The limitations of the research were that the parents came from an
excellent financial background; it also failed to consider the importance of the facility of
child care, and it was not focused on clinical populations.
Another research was conducted to see the relationship between the different types of
parent-child attachment and how childhood experiences lead to trauma within the child.
According to the attachment theorists if a child goes through trauma in his early years of life,
then his development might not be efficient as the other children. The child must have gone
through an insecure attachment during his childhood. The study was conducted between 63
adolescent student who suffered from traumatic behaviour and 63 adolescents who
experienced a safe and healthy relationship with their parents (Erozkan 2016). A
questionnaire was distributed among the students that included the adult attachment scale as
well as childhood trauma questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, comparative statistics, as well
as Pearson correlation, were used to analyse the data (Erozkan 2016). It was found that the
scores were high for children who went through traumatic experiences during their
childhood. It was found that most of the children were physically and verbally abused as a
child. Therefore, it was concluded that trauma in childhood has a negative and long-lasting
impact on the behaviour as well as the mental development of the child (Erozkan 2016). Thus
the study shows that there is a clear connection between childhood trauma and attachment
styles of the parents with their children.

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Therefore, to conclude, it must be noted that parents play an essential role in the
development of the child. The childhood experiences have both positive as well as a negative
impact on the life of the child. The parents should always support their children to make them
feel secure and confident about themselves. Children are vulnerable during their childhood;
therefore, the parents should ensure that the environment surrounding the child is safe, and
they too should take the initiative to make the child secure. Adverse effects of parenting
always harm the child and contribute little to the mental development of the child. On the
other hand, safe and secure attachment with good parenting skills always contributes in a big
way to the mental development of the child. Therefore parents should be aware of proper
parenting skills to ensure the healthy development of the child.

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