Associations between Parenting Styles and Self-esteem

Posted: August 27th, 2021

Associations between Parenting Styles and Self-esteem

Name

Institutional Affiliation

Associations between Parenting Styles and Self-esteem

Abstract

Low self-esteem among children, especially in their adolescence, affects their development. This study examined the association between self-esteem and parenting styles. The study utilized data collected from 338 participants, who mainly included junior and senior high school students.  A questionnaire instrument was used in facilitating the elicitation of responses from the target population. The responses were also subject to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale and analysed to get insight into the data. The study results demonstrated a significant relationship between self-esteem and types of parenting styles. It demonstrated a statistically significant relationship with warm parenting showing a positive relationship and permissive parenting showing a negative relationship with self-esteem. Therefore, the study concluded that warm parenting is the most favourite style, while permissive parenting styles are the most unfavourable. It was worth noting that unfavourable parenting also has the consequences of creating lousy behaviour in children. Thus, authoritative parenting seemed to be more beneficial for adolescent development.

Keywords: Self-esteem, parenting style, adolescents

Associations between Parenting Styles and Self-esteem

Introduction

Self-esteem is about how much a person values their worth and a liking of themselves. It is demonstrated in various capacities that include self-confidence, sense of belonging, competence, and identity, including others’ beliefs about the person. However, self-esteem is affected by family life, abuse, and poverty, among others. Thus, these factors influence a person’s social development as they grow into adulthood.

            Most researchers across the globe agree that parenting styles are among the most significant determinants of the achievements in the life of children. The behaviours of children in their adolescence and adulthood often are associated with their families. Equally, many deviant behaviours and disorders amongst adolescents originate from families with poor parenting. Hence, parenting styles refer to all behaviours, values, and attitudes instilled in their children during their growth, either by interaction or association. These eventually influence emotional, physical, and social as well as intellectual growth and development. Thus, parenting style stands out as one of the most significant influencers of all stages of a person’s development. Therefore, the study examines associations between parenting styles and self-esteem among adolescents. The study examines three parenting styles: authoritative (warm parenting), permissive parenting, and authoritarian (strict parenting). The paper is divided into four main sections: an introduction, literature review, methods of study, results, and discussion.

Literature Review

            Most theories discussing parenting styles concentrate on parents’ behaviour as an individual and their way of interacting with their children. Parenting styles are thus classified based on demanding and level of responsiveness. As such, three parenting styles are noted that include; authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative. However, the fourth one, which is neglectful, was brought into Maccoby and Martin’s limelight (Pinquart et al., 2019). The Authoritarian style of parenting is characterized by a parent demanding complete obedience from their children. The parents are the authority and command how their children behave without expecting contradiction or compromise of their orders. In the other case, authoritative parenting styles involve high demand for obedience but high responsiveness from children. Authoritative parenting is sensitive and involves setting limits for children(Calders et al., 2020). Further, the permissive parenting style has low demand, and it is characterized by high responsiveness. Most parents with this style are always very loving. However, they offer limited rules and guidelines for their children. They act less like parents and more as a friend. Lastly, neglectful parenting involves a complete lack of involvement or response to the needs of a child. Hence, neglectful parents are often dismissive or indifferent to their children.

            Wuyts et al. (2015) sought to examine the tendency of parents to impose self-esteem on their children’s achievement. In their argument, the authors explain that imposing parents’ self-esteem on children is a psychologically controlling parenting style, characterized by personality and parent’s perception of the social settings. The parents attempt to force their environmental and social perception to their children’s behaviour. Parents’ self-esteem is affected when their children fail to perform or achieve per parents’ expectations. Hence, when parents feel incompetent or ineffective, it is highly likely that children will under-achieve.

Authoritative parenting is good for the development of adolescents. In an attempt to confirm this assertion, Calders et al. (2020) investigate the interplay between the parenting dimensions and related styles related to how it is associated with adolescent outcomes. Their study explains that strict parenting style methods do not comprehend the whole parenting complexity. The study combined the two parenting methods by applying novel statistical methods to address four objectives. These objectives included identifying the influential groups of parents using longitudinal data about parenting behaviours. In the second objective, their study focused on assessing dimensional structure that exists among the groups with the aim of establishing whether there are differences. Likewise, the third objective involved performing a comparative evaluation on adolescent characteristics. The fourth objective was to establish whether there are effects on the adolescents due to change in parenting styles. The effect of changing parenting styles was assessed by examining the membership of each group category. Further, longitudinal questionnaire was used with about 1,116 adolescent populations. The average age was 14 years (Calders et al., 2020). The main parenting dimensions assessed include support and proactive, psychological, punitive, and harsh control, separately analysed. The analysis results found two clusters of parenting styles: authoritarian and authoritative styles, that exhibited the four parenting dimensions (Calders et al., 2020). The outcome of longitudinal data analysis indicated that different parenting trajectories uniquely influence behaviour among adolescents. For instance, participants that changed their membership from the authoritative category to authoritarian one attributed it to a decrease in the self-concept. On the contrary, the study established that changing parenting styles affects self-esteem (Calders et al., 2020).The study suggested that perception towards the setting of rules among adolescents is dependent on the style of parenting, which ultimately determines their overall behaviour.

Yousaf (2015) examined the relationship between self-esteem, parenting style, the anxiety in girls. A sample of 100 female students that were randomly selected across different institutions was used. The data was collected using Parental Authority Questionnaire, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and Rosenberg’s Self Esteem scales. The study results showed a negative correlation between social anxiety and self-esteem in girls (Claders et al., 2020). However, this relationship was insignificant. Likewise, it was demonstrated that self-esteem has the potential of causing social anxiety. Notably, the study emphasizes that authoritative parenting causes social anxiety among girls. However, it was established that there is a negative correlation between social anxiety and permissive parenting style (Poon, 2010; Claders et al., 2020). However, both authoritative and pessimistic parenting styles are the leading cause of social anxiety among adolescents. During their growth, teenagers are faced with different challenges that instigate individual assessment of their self-image, hence individual worth. According to Yousaf (2015), self-esteem is a moderator between social anxiety and introversion. Therefore, he asserts that about half of the adolescents’ population go through inevitable struggles with low self-esteem, especially during their teenage years.

Similarly, the self-esteem was found to decrease during a teens transition from lower level to a high education level. The case is pervasive among teenagers with weak self-identity (Poon, 2010). This is worsened by confusion brought about by additional choices and an increase in the importance of decisions that they have to undertake. In this case, there is a possibility of such a situation causing a feeling of inadequacy among adults, hence becoming ill-equipped (Poon, 2010). Equally, false praises or accolades that children receive on their degrees at institutional level also contributes to low self-esteem. At the same time, communal solid and relational connections are significant for teenagers with healthy self-esteem. Yousaf (2015) avers that feeling secure and strong bonds in a family reduces the possibility of low self-esteem. This is supported by other studies on families with different social-economic backgrounds that explain that self-esteem among teens is protected by solid family units (Poon, 2010). Subsequently, both parents have different roles when it comes to parenting style. This is also unique across the cultural dimension. For instance, in Pakistan, mothers are known to be soft and less controlling, and supportive. However, fathers are described as strict (Poon, 2010).  Thus, a perfect combination of both parents’ two parenting styles is essential for a child’s growth and development of healthy self-esteem.

Good parenting is considered a contributing factor in a child’s healthy self-esteem. While examining self-esteem as a factor linking creativity and parenting styles, Pham & Besty (2017) argues that solid self-esteem is an influencing factor towards creativity and is best nurtured through the family.  Their study model recognized the role of parents, educators, and employers in achieving creativity. Thus, the study emphasized the link between self-esteem, creativity, and parenting styles.

In summary, many studies recognize the role of parenting style towards a child’s self-esteem.  There are four key parenting styles, namely; authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful. All these styles have their consequences on a child’s perception of their social environment and self-esteem. However, most of these studies have failed to examine the association between parenting styles and self-esteem from childhood to adolescent age and its implication to adulthood behaviours. Therefore, this study seeks to understand the association between parenting styles and self-esteem as a critical factor in nurturing a child across all stages. The subsequent sections present the methods used in the study.

Methods

The section presents the methods utilized in implementing the study. It includes descriptions of participants, materials, and procedures followed in collecting, analysing, and presenting information about the study. Before embarking on the study, ethical approval and consent was sought from relevant authorities and institutions.

Participants

The study used 338 participants, who included junior and senior secondary school students selected from public and private institutions with the state. The female students included 198 and 140 males. The study included the students currently living with single parents and those living with both parents. However, those students residing with non-biological parents were excluded.

Materials

The study’s primary material was the questionnaire presented to participants asking their age, sex, how satisfied they are with themselves, and their view on the enforced rules within their household. The study also utilized the Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale that was established in 1965. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale is a 10-item scale that measures global self-worth by measuring positive and negative feelings about oneself. It is a unidimensional scale(Claders et al., 2020). Thus, the scale items are distributed through a 5-point Likert format ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

Procedure

The study population was collected from different schools, including private and public ones. The researcher shared the details of the study, including the purpose and nature of the study. Afterward, participants were provided with questionnaires to fill in within their appropriate time. The questionnaire was divided into two main sections. The first section included questions asking about age, sex, level of satisfaction with themselves and their feelings, particularly regarding how important they are and if they believe they have good qualities. The second set of questions asked participants to take a survey on parental authority. This section included questions such as how enforced rules were in the households and how encouraging parents were.

Measures

The study utilized a self-administered questionnaire with about 30 items to elicit responses following parental authority. The instrument sought to ascertain children’s perception on their parenting styles as demonstrated with how they are disciplined. All the items were rated on a five-point scale where 1- strongly agree, 2 – agree, 3–neither agree nor disagree, 4 –disagree and 5– strongly disagree. The questionnaire included 30 items which were divided in three sub-scales, namely, warm parenting, permissive and strict parenting (Claders et al., 2020). Warm parenting (items 1 – 10), Permissive (11 – 20), and strict parenting (21- 30). Thus, the acquired responses were summed up. The adopted parenting style was indicated by the highest score.  with a high score indicating the adopted parenting style. Regarding self-esteem,the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was utilized. The scale measures included scores between 12 to 13 graded as above or equal to 26, representing high esteem. However, scores under 25 point were interpreted as low self-esteem. Thus, this score was designed to reflect the data, which was primarily skewed to the right.

Results

Descriptive Analysis

Descriptive statistics were utilized in analysing the data to help find meaningful patterns.

Figure 1: Results of Descriptive Statistics

Figure 1 is a summary of descriptive statistics. The valid sample examined was 338 across the four categories of parenting styles. The mean for permissive parenting style reported the lowest mean at 2.558, while the esteem reported the highest mean score of 3.677, followed closely with warm and strict parenting at 3.630 and 3.246, respectively. The standard deviation for permissive, warm, and strict parenting was 0.600, 0.674, and 0.719, respectively, while esteem showed a deviation of 0.617. The minimum score was 1.000, with the maximum at 5.00, as revealed in figure 1.

Correlation Analysis

Esteem and Permissive Parenting

Correlation analysis was utilized to understand the relationship between different parenting styles and the self-esteem of the participants. Figure 2 below shows correlation analysis results between esteem and permissive parenting style.

Figure 2: Pearson’s Correlation analysis

In figure 2, the results show that permissive parenting style has a negative correlation with esteem (-0.066) with a p-value of 0.225. This is demonstrated in the following correlation plot;

Figure 3: Correlation analysis plot for permissive and esteem

From figure 3, it is evident that there is a strong, negatively skewed relationship between permissive parenting and self-esteem.

Esteem and Warm Parenting

Figure 4 shows the correlation analysis between esteem and warm parenting. The results show that esteem is positively correlated with warm parenting with a correlational coefficient of 0.136 and a p-value of 0.013. Since the p-value calculated is less than the p-value critical, this relation is statistically significant.

Figure 4:Pearson’s correlation for esteem and warm parenting

The results of figure 4 are summarised in the following chat.

Figure 5: Correlation analysis plot for esteem and warm parenting

According to figure 5, there is a strong, positive relationship between warm parenting and self-esteem.

Esteem and Strict Parenting

Figure 4 shows the correlation analysis between esteem and strict parenting. The results show that esteem is positively correlated with strict parenting with a correlational coefficient of 0.053 and p-value of 0.332. Since the p-value calculated is more than the p-value critical (p-value <0.05), this relation is not statistically significant.

Figure 6: Correlation analysis for esteem and strict parenting

Figure 7 below is a correlation analysis plot summarizing the results of esteem and strict parenting.

Figure 7: Correlation analysis for esteem and strict parenting

From figure 7, it can be shown that there exists a moderate, positively skewed relationship between strict parenting and self-esteem.

Discussion

The study established that there are significant relationships between self-esteem and parenting styles. This aligns with other studies by Claders et al. (2020) and Pinquart (2019) that examined parenting dimensions and styles associated with adolescent outcomes and the associations of parenting styles with self-esteem in adolescents and children, respectively. The results of this research confirmed that there is a positive relationship between self-esteem and strict parenting. The same positive relationship was demonstrated in the relationship between self-esteem and warm parenting. However, a negative relationship exists between permissive parenting style and self-esteem. Thus, this implied that permissive parenting styles could result in low self-esteem, unlike the other two parenting types.

Regarding the strength of the correlation coefficient, the study results indicated a strong, positive relationship between warm or authoritative parenting and self-esteem. These assertions were statistically significant at a 95% confidence level. It thus implies that warm parenting is most likely to contribute to high self-esteem among children. Authoritative or warm parenting involves providing regular support for children as they consistently affirm and speak to their children in a friendly way. Further, this type of parenting provides limits besides positively guiding children. Hence, the study shows that children reared under warm parenting are likely to have healthy self-esteem.

Subsequently, the correlation coefficient’s strength between strict or authoritarian parenting styles was moderate and positively skewed. This explains that parents who employed strict parenting styles were likely to create high self-esteem in their children. However, the strength of the correlation is not convincing. More so, the coefficient of correlation was not statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval. Thus, the study shows that there is no sufficient explanation that strict parenting style will affect self-esteem. However, an examination of the relationship between permissive parenting and self-esteem indicated a strong negative correlation. Permissive parenting is characterized by parents demanding little from their children while being highly responsive. Such parents are often very loving but give limited guidance to their children. They rarely set rules. Therefore, this study establishes that such a parenting style can create unhealthy self-esteem in their children.

This study’s outcomes offer an insight to education planners, developers, and implementers besides evaluating the mental health of children in a school environment. It provides a need to employ health strategies that increase the knowledge of all the affected parties. Equally, the self-esteem concept should be adequately understood about the parenting styles and the dangers associated with low self-esteem. Therefore, education systems should incorporate appropriate strategies like public enlightenment and training.

Conclusion

The study indicates that there is a strong association between parenting styles and self-esteem among children. The study has highlighted several issues whose relationship is statistically significant, with warm parenting showing a positive relationship and permissive parenting showing a negative relationship with self-esteem. In this case, it is necessary to implement interventions that emphasize on best parenting styles besides educating parents on the adverse effects of unfavourable parenting on children’s self-esteem. Unfavourable parenting also has the consequences of creating bad behaviour in children. Thus, the benefits of warm parenting styles should be emulated in nurturing healthy self-esteem.

References

Calders, Filip, Bijttebier, Patricia, Bosmans, Guy, Ceulemans, Colin, Hilde, and Goosens (March 2020) Investigating the interplay between parenting dimensions’ styles and the association with adolescent outcomes. European child and adolescent psychiatry. 10188827, Vol. 29, Issue 3. Retrieved from https://fsso.lynn.edu/adfs/ls/

Pinquart, Martin, Gerke, Dana-Christina (August 2019) Associations of parenting styles with self-esteem in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. Journal of child and family studies. Vol. 28, Issue 8. Retrieved from https://fsso.lynn.edu/adfs/ls/

Poon, W. R. (2010). Self-esteem as a mediator in the relationship between parenting style and psychological well-being of children. https://doi.org/10.5353/th_b4684887

Yousaf, S. (2015). The Relation between Self-esteem, Parenting Style and Social Anxiety in Girls. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(1). www.iiste.org

Wuyts, D., Vansteenkiste, M., Soenens, B., & Assor, A. (2015, May 5). An examination of the dynamics involved in parental child-invested contingent self-esteem. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15295192.2015.1020135