Parenting Styles, Educational Achievement, and Behavioral Disorders among Elementary School Students

The present study was undertaken to explore the interrelationship of parenting styles, educational achievement, and behavioral disorders among elementary school students in Khour and Biabanak. In this descriptive, correlational research the statistical population comprised all fourth and fifth graders in Khour, Jandagh, and Farokhi from among 135 students were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling method. The instrumentation comprised Baumrind parenting styles questionnaire. In addition, students’ GPAs and teachers’ reports were used as indexes of academic achievement and behavioral disorders, respectively. The data were analyzed by Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Results showed that there was a significant, positive relationship between authoritative parenting style and academic achievement. Furthermore, there was a negative association between permissive and authoritarian parenting styles and academic achievement. Moreover, behavioral disorders were observed less frequently among students whose parents displayed authoritative parenting style. It can be concluded that providing parents with training in appropriate parenting styles can promote students’ academic achievement and reduce their behavioral disorders.