Relationship of Maternal Child-Rearing Behaviors to Children's Self-Esteem

Abstract

Summary The study was designed to examine the relationship of children's perceptions of their mothers' child-rearing behaviors to children's self-esteem. Fifty-two boys and girls, ages seven to 15, rated their mothers' child-rearing behaviors and completed a self-esteem inventory. Results were that children who viewed their mothers as using psychological pressure techniques to discipline them had low self-esteem, and children who viewed their mothers as being accepting had high self-esteem. These findings replicate and extend Coopersmith's findings regarding the antecedents of self-esteem in children.