title: The anchoring function: parental authority and the parent-child bond.
abstract: Descriptions of parental authority and of the formation of a secure parent-child bond have remained unconnected in conceptualizations about parenting and child development. The parental anchoring function is here presented as an integrative metaphor for the two fields. Parents who fulfill an anchoring function offer a secure relational frame for the child, while also manifesting a stabilizing and legitimate kind of authority. The anchoring function enriches the two fields by: (1) adding a dimension of authority to the acknowledged functions of the safe haven and the secure base that are seen as core to a secure parent-child bond, and (2) adding considerations about the parent-child bond to Baumrind's classical description of authoritative parenting.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Haim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Omer
authors.forename: Sarit G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: Tal
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Carthy
authors.forename: Arist
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: von Schlippe
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000628:therapy; D001318:Authoritarianism; D002648:Child; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000628:therapy; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents; D012944:Social Support