The show followed several high school kids through their daily triumphs and shortcomings. Over the course of the series, the audience watched as the jock, the outcast, party girl, and the nerd become the best of friends despite their vastly different upbringings and personalities. Nathan, the jock, struggled with meeting the expectations of his authoritarian parents. Peyton, the outcast, had an over-loving, permissive father. Brooke, the girl known for throwing parties, had uninvolved parents who were never home. Haley, the studious student, came home to supportive, authoritative parents. Each character is a product of a particular style of parenting and therefore, they all display different personalities affecting their level of self-esteem, independence, and/or social …show more content…
Throughout high school, Brooke hid her feelings of low self-esteem with the latest fashion trends; she was the president of every school club to give herself the illusion of importance; and hosted the biggest parties to cure her loneliness. Even after a run-in with the law, her parents were completely oblivious to the destructive path she was on. This style of parenting is detrimental to all forms of child development and is a common factor in many of today’s criminals. Baumrind reiterates this in her case study, stating that “extremely competent children are never products of homes in which both parents demonstrate noninvolvement in care taking” (36). These parents leave their children open to corruption and the allow them to develop defiant behavior towards authority figures, which can lead to truancy tendencies in school or