The Authoritarian Syndrome in Attitudes and Educational Practices of Russian Parents

Abstract

In the structure of indicators of authoritarianism, a central position is occupied by rigidity of educational attitudes as a manifestation of the syndrome of authoritarian aggression. This article addresses educational attitudes of mothers, as well as their idea of the role of a father in families with varied economic resources. The study involved 500 mothers, selected basing on the criterion of self-identification of their economic status (low and medium), under the age of 45, with children aged from 1.5 to 3 years old. Educational attitudes were estimated on the basis of views characterizing typical principals of upbringing of children in everyday family life. This study highlighted that authoritarian attitudes are characteristic of low resource families, rather than of families with medium resources. A similar tendency can be traced in mothers’ perception of fathers in these families: as more authoritarian and more democratic, sensitive, partner-oriented in communication with their children, respectively. This work suggests the directions in correction of authoritarian educational attitudes.