Parenting Styles and Practices in Enhancing Self-Determination of Children With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Teach parents of kids with IDD to use authoritative, autonomy-supportive strategies and cut overprotection to grow child self-determination.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers asked Turkish mothers about their parenting style and their child's self-determination. They compared moms of kids with intellectual disability, autism, or no diagnosis.
The survey measured four parenting styles: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and autonomy-supportive. Moms also rated how much choice and problem-solving their child showed.
What they found
Authoritative and autonomy-supportive moms reported kids who made more choices and solved problems on their own. Permissive or overprotective moms reported the opposite.
Children with mild disabilities scored higher on self-determination than kids with moderate or severe disabilities.
How this fits with other research
Takahashi et al. (2023) found Chinese moms of kids with ID used more authoritarian style, while this Turkish sample used more authoritative style. Same survey design, different culture, same disability group — the clash shows culture shapes style.
Agiovlasitis et al. (2025) extends the story: within the same family, parents give more autonomy to the typically developing sibling than to the sibling with ID. The new study confirms that across families, the same pattern holds.
Gilmore et al. (2009) first showed autonomy support boosted persistence in toddlers with Down syndrome. Boswell et al. (2023) now show the same principle works for self-determination in older kids with wider diagnoses.
Why it matters
When you coach parents, praise authoritative and autonomy-supportive moves. Tell them to offer choices, let the child try first, and avoid taking over. If mom is permissive or overprotective, teach her to set clear expectations and step back. These small shifts can raise the child's daily decision-making and long-term independence.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Parenting styles and practices are crucial in promoting the self-determination of children. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the role of parenting styles and practices in enhancing the self-determination of children with/without intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The present study was carried out with a sample of 243 parents of children with/without IDD in Türkiye (Turkey). The results indicated that an authoritative parenting style and autonomy-supportive parenting practices positively affect the degree of child self-determination, whereas permissive and overprotective parenting practices may limit child opportunities in fostering self-determination. The study results also showed that urbanization, higher income, and higher education level of parents positively impacted the degree of child self-determination. Parents of typically developing children reported higher levels of overall self-determination for their typically developing children when compared with children with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder. On the other hand, parents of children with mild disabilities reported a higher level of self-determination than both children with moderate and severe disabilities. The results were discussed within the cultural context of the current sample.
American journal on intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2023 · doi:10.1352/1944-7558-128.4.282