Children's Agency in Parent-Child Dynamics
Summary
Children’s agency in parent–child relationships refers to the ways in which young people actively shape their interactions, assert preferences and negotiate boundaries within the family system. Far from passive recipients of parental influence, children employ a repertoire of strategies—ranging from negotiation and persuasion to covert non-compliance—to express autonomy and contribute to decision‐making. Theoretical frameworks such as social relational theory highlight the bidirectional nature of these exchanges and the inherent power asymmetries that both constrain and enable children’s participatory capacities. Developmentally, agency evolves from early non-verbal cues of preference to increasingly sophisticated forms of argumentation and collaborative problem‐solving during middle childhood and adolescence. Cultural context and family structure further modulate the expression and reception of agency, with variations in parental autonomy support influencing outcomes for social competence, emotional well‐being and academic adjustment. Practical applications of this work inform the design of parenting programmes that balance guidance with opportunities for child‐initiated action and foster resilient family dynamics across diverse settings.
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Children's Agency in Parent-Child Dynamics publication trend
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Technical terms
Agency: The capacity of children to act intentionally and influence their social environment.
Resistance: Children’s refusal or opposition to parental demands as an expression of autonomy.
Autonomy support: Parental practices that encourage children’s self-initiated behaviour and decision-making.
Social relational theory: A framework emphasising bidirectional influences and power asymmetries in parent–child relationships.
Positive deviance: An approach identifying children who achieve favourable outcomes in adverse contexts to understand adaptive strategies.
References
- Experiences of Parenting Multiple Expressions of Relationally Challenging Childhood Behaviours across Contexts. Encyclopedia (2023).
- Children’s agency in parent–child, teacher–pupil and peer relationship contexts. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being (2018).
- Mothers’ Perspectives on Resistance and Defiance in Middle Childhood: Promoting Autonomy and Social Skill. Social Sciences (2021).
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