Age and Gender Differences in Perceived Parenting Styles and Emotional Outcomes in Early Adolescents

Abstract

Early adolescents’ perception of parenting styles is crucial to their present and future physical and mental well-being. The main aim of the present study was to analyze differences in parenting styles between mothers and fathers and differences on emotional state scales (anxiety, depression, and purpose in life) depending on gender, age, and family structure in 744 girls (54%) and boys (45.7%) aged between 10 and 12 years. The results showed that the early adolescents perceived greater levels of affect than criticism, with mothers being considered more affectionate than fathers. The greater the perceived affect and communication, the greater was the perception of purpose in life and the lower the levels of anxiety and depression in early adolescents. Boys showed higher levels of perceived criticism and rejection. Family affect and communication play a key role in purpose in life and emotional well-being of children, with parenting styles being a determining factor.

Investigating the effects of autonomy-supportive parenting practices on Italian young adolescent students’ motivation to defend victims of bullying: findings on the mediating roles of reactance, depression, anxiety, and stress

“…However, an alternative explanation is that, because of the way extrinsic motivation to defend is currently conceptualized, it is more influenced by behavioral factors such as reactance than by psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, or stress, which are more likely to influence other forms of external regulation, such as introjected motivation, which were not considered in this study ( Ryan and Deci, 2000 ). Nonetheless, our finding that autonomy-supportive parenting appeared to lower depression, stress, and anxiety, is in line with the existing evidence on the protective effect of caring and supportive parenting strategies on youths’ mental wellbeing (e.g., Ortega et al, 2021 ; Rakhshani et al, 2022 ). Finally, the gender differences that emerged in our sample could be explained by some evidence in motivational research of girls showing more autonomous motivation than boys ( Ratelle et al, 2007 ; Vansteenkiste et al, 2009 ), but findings of gender differences in prosocial motivation have not been confirmed by other studies ( Jungert et al, 2021 ; Iotti et al, 2022 ).…”

An intergenerational study of parental bonding on perceptions of parental and spousal criticism and marital relationship quality in Singapore

“…Higher maternal discipline was also perceived by boys compared to girls (Shek, 2008). Moreover, daughters tend to be parented with greater warmth and greater reluctance to punish, while higher levels of perceived criticism and rejection were observed in boys (Ortega et al, 2023). G2 male participants may be more accustomed to criticism due to experiences of less warm parental communication and greater psychological control, whereas G2 female participants may be more likely to experience greater parental care and warmth.…”

The Development of Explore Malaysia Board Games (EMBoG) to Build Good Family Bonding Between Parents and Children

“…Parents should make sure that they spend plenty of time with their children despite busy schedules, because good family communication is a crucial element in family functioning and an indicator of children's emotional and social progress. As mentioned by Ortega et al (2021) family affect and communication play a key role in purpose in life and emotional well-being of children, with parenting style being a determining factor.…”