The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem in the relationship between Parenting Styles and Educational Adjustment

The present study aimed to determine the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between parenting styles and academic adjustment. The current research was descriptive-correlation based on structural equations. The research population included all female students of the first secondary school in Rodsar City in the academic year of 2021-2022, and 300 people were selected from this population by multi-stage cluster sampling method. To collect data, parenting styles inventory (Bamrind, 1973, PSI), Rosenberg self-esteem scale (1965, RSES) and the student adjustment to college questionnaire (Baker and Seriak, 1984, SACQ) were used. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the research data. The results showed that authoritarian and authoritarian parenting styles have a direct effect on academic adjustment (0.05); While the permissive style does not have a significant direct effect on academic adjustment. On the other hand, the results showed that self-esteem has a direct effect on academic adjustment (P≤0.05). Also, all parenting styles have an indirect effect on academic adjustment through the mediating role of self-esteem (P≤0.05). The final model also had a good fit. Therefore, it can be concluded that to increase the academic adaptation of students, attention should be paid to the parenting styles of parents and especially the self-esteem of students.