The effect of parental authority on the preschool child's self-concept

The relationship between the preschool child's self-concept and the parents use of authority was examined. The Brown IDS -- Self-Concept Test was administered to 81 preschool children and the Gordon's “Use of Parental Authority” was administered to the parents of the children. A strong relationship was found between boys self-concept and the mothers use of control. The mothers who used more control had boys with the higher self-concept. More control was advocated by parents of girls than parents of boys. Both mothers and fathers self-concept and the self-concept of their daughters and sons were strongly related.