How Parenting Styles Shape Children’s Lifetime Outcomes

Thomas Dohmen, Bart Golsteyn, Hans Grönqvist, Edvin Hertegård, Gerard Pfann and Gerard A. Pfann

No 12407, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: This study examines how parenting styles predict children’s lifetime outcomes. Using a Swedish dataset which combines rich survey information on parenting styles with administrative records tracking children over five decades, we find that authoritarian parenting is negatively associated with children’s long-term success, especially regarding their educational attainment. The results for other parenting styles are more mixed. Authoritarian parenting remains a robust predictor of adverse outcomes even when accounting for ability and family background. We identify children’s knowledge accumulation and parental educational expectations as key mechanisms explaining these results.

Keywords: child rearing; human capital; skill formation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 J13 J24 R20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12407

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