Robert Larzelere

editor of "Authoritative Parenting"

November 4, 2015

Bob Larzelere holds the Endowed Professorship in Parenting in the department of human development and family science. He came to Oklahoma State University in 2006 after prior positions at Rosemead School of Psychology, Boys Town and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has over 100 publications, mostly using his expertise in research methodology and in parental discipline. His research on parental discipline has advanced understanding of authoritative parenting, which combines nurturance with appropriate discipline for long-term benefits to children. He has been especially interested in clarifying the kinds of disciplinary tactics that work together with nurturance to achieve these beneficial outcomes in children. He has used the authoritative synthesis of nurturance with appropriate discipline to show how to combine the strengths of clinical child psychology and child development research into a comprehensive understanding of optimal parenting. He spear-headed four one-day miniconferences on parenting from 2008 to 2012 that were sponsored by the Department of HDFS. One led to the book on authoritative parenting published by the American Psychological Association, with contributions from six other HDFS faculty members and 18 other experts from various American universities.

Psychologist Diana Baumrind's revolutionary prototype of optimal parenting, called authoritative parenting, has become the bedrock of parenting research. In contrast to other parenting styles emphasizing responsiveness alone (permissive parenting) or demandingness alone (authoritarian parenting), authoritative parenting combines high levels of both responsiveness and demandingness. The result is an effective mix of warm nurturance and firm discipline. In this book, leading scholars update our thinking about authoritative parenting, demonstrating that it fosters high achievement, emotional adjustment, self-reliance and social confidence in children and adolescents. The book will inform prevention and intervention efforts to help parents maximize their children's potential.

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2015/robert-larzelere

Last Updated: 12 January 2022