The authoritarian family and its adolescents

Authoritarian Families possess characteristics similar to those of the Authoritarian Personality. They are power oriented, tend to have dichotomous conceptions, have emotional and intellectual rigidity and submit easily to authoritarian forces. The adolescents in such families are deprived of their basic needs for stability, flexibility and guidance. Consequently they feel frustrated and angry. Their anger manifests itself in various forms. A large percentage of these adolescents adopt their parents' attitudes and develop similar authoritarian personality characteristics. The second group are those who experience considerable conflict and tend to become aggressive and hostile in their interpersonal relationships. STill, there are adolescents who become withdrawn, depressed and apathetic and display great difficulty in dealing effectively with the ordinary demands of their lives. These adolescents and their families are difficult to treat. Several case histories are provided and brief outlines of a treatment approach are given.