Positive illusions in parenting: Systematic review

OpenAlex · Turkish

Positive illusions in parenting refer to the tendency of parents to hold overly favorable beliefs about their children’s abilities, intelligence, character, or achievements, often diverging from objective reality. These illusions, encompassing superiority illusion, positive bias, optimism bias, illusion of control, overvaluation, and self-reflection, serve as psychological mechanisms that enhance parental well-being, self-efficacy, and motivation while fostering supportive parenting behaviors. However, they also pose risks, including unrealistic expectations, neglect of children’s developmental needs, and the potential for fostering narcissistic traits or distorted self-concepts in children. This systematic review synthesizes findings from 25 studies (1988–2024) identified through Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Wiley Library, exploring the effects of positive illusions on parenting attitudes, behaviors, and parent-child interactions. The results indicate that while positive illusions can bolster parenting satisfaction and emotional resilience, excessive or unbalanced illusions may lead to detrimental outcomes, such as overlooking children’s shortcomings, fostering performance anxiety, or hindering autonomy development. Notably, parents with higher socioeconomic status and education levels exhibit stronger positive illusions, potentially as a strategy to enhance social competitiveness. The review underscores the importance of balancing positive illusions with realistic expectations to support healthy child development and effective parenting. Recommendations include targeted education in psychological counseling and parenting programs to help parents recognize their children’s true potential while mitigating the adverse effects of cognitive distortions.