How Parenting Styles Affect Adolescent Well-Being

Highlights:

Parental autonomy support is crucial for adolescent growth and well-being. It involves encouraging independence by providing options, listening intently, taking perspectives, and giving valid explanations for specific actions
Controlling parenting, on the other hand, refers to behaviors that pressure children to do things they would not freely do, such as enforcing obedience and conformity, using rewards as a tool for control, imposing one's agenda on the children, and not allowing them to make their own decisions
Mothers' autonomy support positively influenced adolescents' satisfaction with basic psychological needs. However, there was low to moderate agreement between mothers' and teenagers' perspectives on parenting. Adolescents' satisfaction with basic psychological needs was also found to be a negative predictor of depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of fulfilling these needs for overall well-being

In psychology research, the interaction between adolescents and their parents has always been an intriguing topic. Numerous studies emphasize the importance of parenting behavior in the development of children.

‘By understanding the nature of support that adolescents seek, parents and caregivers can guide their parenting behavior to enhance the mental health and well-being of the younger generation. As Prof. Tanaka notes, this can help vitalize society in both the short- and long term by supporting the growth and development of future leaders.’

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Parenting Styles and Adolescent Well-Being

Parental autonomy support, in particular, has been identified as critical for teenage growth and well-being. The two most crucial aspects of parenting are parental autonomy support and regulating parenting. The former refers to parents encouraging their children's independence by listening intently, providing options, taking perspectives, and providing valid explanations for specific acts.

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Understanding Controlling Parenting Behaviors

Controlling parenting, on the other hand, refers to parental behaviors that pressure children to do things they would not freely do, such as enforcing obedience and conformity, using rewards as a tool for control, imposing one's agenda on the children, and allowing them to make their own decisions.

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Impact of Parenting on Basic Psychological Needs Fulfillment

Certain parental approaches can either lower or increase the likelihood of mental problems in adolescence. Similarly, the two activities might have a favorable or negative impact on teenagers' fulfilment of basic psychological needs. Adolescents' life satisfaction and mental wellness improve when their basic psychological requirements are met. A lack of satisfaction, on the other hand, can lead to decreased vitality, loss of volition, personality disintegration, and illness. Most research on parental autonomy support and controlling parenting, on the other hand, is based primarily on children's impressions of parenting actions, ignoring the reality that parents and children may have different perceptions. And very few research have looked into the impact of these perspectives on adolescents' fulfillment of their basic psychological needs.

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Differences in Perceptions Between Mothers and Adolescents

As a result, researchers in Japan, led by Prof. Ayumi Tanaka of Doshisha University's Faculty of Psychology, explored the similarities in adolescents and their mothers' perceptions of parental autonomy support and controlling parenting. They also investigated the potential link between these views and depressive symptoms in teenagers (mental health) by employing fundamental psychological needs fulfilment as a mediator. “It is necessary to understand the relative impact of parents’ and adolescents’ perceptions of autonomy support and controlling parenting on basic psychological needs satisfaction. This understanding could explain the importance of parenting in the adolescent developmental process” explains Prof. Tanaka.

Prof. Tanaka and her colleagues selected 408 pairs of Japanese mothers and adolescents who completed a questionnaire four months apart (October 2019 and February-March 2020). The 24-item Perceived Parental Autonomy Support Scale was used to assess teenagers' and mothers' opinions of mothers' autonomy support and controlling parenting (P-PASS). The researchers then used the Japanese version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale to collect information on teenagers' fundamental psychological needs satisfaction. They also used a version of the Depression Self-Rating Scale for Children to collect data on adolescents' levels of depression symptoms.

Role of Basic Psychological Needs in Depressive Symptoms

According to statistical analysis of the mother-adolescent responses, there is low to moderate agreement between mothers' and teenagers' perspectives of parenting. The researchers also discovered that mothers' stated autonomy support, but not teenagers' perceptions, positively influenced adolescents' satisfaction with basic psychological needs. Yet, satisfaction with basic psychological needs reported by adolescents was found to be a negative predictor of depressive symptoms.

Implications for Parenting and Adolescent Mental Health

These findings suggest that teenagers may perceive parenting differently from their mothers, maybe due to diverse points of view. Despite these distinctions, both views of basic psychological needs fulfilment can independently predict depressive behavior in teenagers. Furthermore, regardless of adolescent perceptions, maternal autonomy support may be advantageous; and regardless of mothers' reports, adolescents' perceived controlling parenting is detrimental to their mental health.
Envisioning the possible impact of this research, Prof. Tanaka says, “With these findings, mothers and other people around adolescents can understand the nature of support that adolescents seek. Support for a healthy life for adolescents, the creators of the future, is important for every society in the world. We hope that our research can help vitalize society in both the short- and long-terms by guiding parenting behavior to enhance the mental health and well-being of adolescents.”

Source-Medindia