Perceived Parenting Styles and Adjustment during Emerging Adulthood: A Cross-National Perspective

Águeda Parra, Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija, María del Carmen García-Mendoza, Susana Coimbra, José Egídio Oliveira and Marta Díez
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Águeda Parra: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
María del Carmen García-Mendoza: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
Susana Coimbra: Department of Psychology, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
José Egídio Oliveira: Department of Psychology, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade do Porto, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Marta Díez: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-15

Abstract: The aim of the present study is to determine whether the influence of parenting style on children’s wellbeing is sustained during emerging adulthood. This is a stage in which young people, despite feeling themselves to be adults, often remain in the family home and continue to be financially dependent on their parents. Moreover, since parents’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are constructed and interpreted within their cultural milieu, the study also aims to explore the situation in Spain (SP) and Portugal (PT). Those two Southern Europe countries are representative of what is known as the “family welfare regime”, in which the family acts as the main provider of care and security not only during childhood, but also during emerging adulthood. Thus, the present study examines, from a cross-cultural perspective, the relationship between perceived parenting styles and psychological adjustment among a sample of 1047 emerging adults from Spain and Portugal. The results reveal that the most beneficial styles during this stage are the authoritative and permissive ones, with the authoritarian style being more closely related to psychological distress. The study highlights intercultural similarities and the positive role played by more symmetrical relationships in the adjustment of emerging adults in both countries.

Keywords: emerging adulthood; parenting; psychological wellbeing; psychological distress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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