The Roles of Parenting Styles of Mothers in Predicting Behavioral Problems in Adolescents

The present study aimed to investigate the roles of parenting styles in predicting behavioral problems in adolescents in Isfahan.  

In the present descriptive-analytical study, we selected 120 mothers with adolescent children who visited counseling centers in Isfahan from November to February 2019 using purposive sampling, and they responded to Baumrind Parenting Style Inventory (1973) and the Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) (parental form). We analyzed data using multiple regression and correlation coefficients.  

The results indicated that there were significant negative relationships between isolation/depression and aggressive behavior with a permissive parenting style, and between social problems and rule-breaking behavior with an authoritarian parenting style. The permissive parenting style could predict isolation/depression (P=0.05) and aggressive behavior (P=0.01). The authoritarian parenting style also predicted social problems (P=0.01) and rule-breaking behavior (P=0.01), and the authoritative parenting style predicted aggressive behavior (P=0.05).  

The results indicated that permissive and authoritarian parenting styles led to more psychological feedback of adolescents with isolation/depression problems, social problems, rule-breaking behavior, and aggressive behavior.