Sure research can define the best parenting. But what good does that do for parents who have already been raising kids for years -- even if they recognize that they should be doing things differently? To put it another way, can parents change their stripes?

It's a question I put to University of New Hampshire researcher Rick Trinkner, who published a study last week finding that delinquency was less common among kids with "authoritative" parents than it was among kids with domineering "authoritarian" parents. (Delinquency wasn't more common among kids with pushover "permissive" parents, but his research raised concerns with that parenting style as well.)

A change of parenting style probably won't help when it comes to certain aspects of kids' lives, such as the clothes they wear, he said. But when it comes to preventing delinquent actions (drinking, vandalism) a switch to an authoritative approach could be meaningful. Authoritative parenting involves setting boundaries, but not with a "my way or the highway attitude." It requires parents to explain the reasons behind their rules and to hear out their kids' concerns. More from Trinkner:

The viral web sensation last week was the dad who gunned down his daughter's laptop because his daughter complained on Facebook about chores.

Trinkner said this is a losing battle, because kids don't recognize their parents as authorities over their general social media usage. The exception is in cases of cyberbullying when parents do play a role in protecting their children from harm. But that wasn't the situation with this dad, who should have redirected his frustration, Trinkner concluded:

That means, spending time telling his daughter to do chores and explaining why they are important. Becoming this kind of parent isn't easy, Trinkner said:

In the end, most parents use all three styles Trinkner evaluated in his research. Authoritative parents, for example, may be much more forceful about issues of illicit drug use. Trinkner challenged parents to observe situations when they used different parenting styles, and to evaluate which ones were successful. Listening is a key.