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Parenting and Late Adolescent Emotional Adjustment: Mediating Effects of Discipline and Gender

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Abstract

Research suggests that parenting styles are related to the types of discipline parents utilize and that the coupling of parenting styles and discipline techniques are related to child outcomes. Although extant research examines the effects of parenting styles and discipline on child and early adolescent adjustment, less is known about adjustment in late adolescents, also described as emerging adults. Thus, the current study investigated the relationships among parenting styles (e.g., authoritative, authoritarian, permissive), discipline strategies (e.g., non-violent discipline, psychological aggression, physical assault), and emerging adult emotional adjustment (e.g., self-esteem, depression, and anxiety). The sample consisted of 526 participants ranging in age from 18 to 22 years. Results were analyzed with structural equation modeling and suggest that, although perceived parenting styles and discipline are both correlated with emerging adult emotional adjustment, perceived parenting is associated with emerging adult emotional adjustment for females but not males when examined simultaneously with perceived discipline. This finding demonstrates the importance of examining the direct and indirect relationships in the context of gender dyads.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box 6161, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Cliff McKinney & Mary Catherine Milone

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

    Kimberly Renk

Authors
  1. Cliff McKinney
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  2. Mary Catherine Milone
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  3. Kimberly Renk
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Correspondence to Cliff McKinney.

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McKinney, C., Milone, M.C. & Renk, K. Parenting and Late Adolescent Emotional Adjustment: Mediating Effects of Discipline and Gender. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42, 463–481 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0229-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0229-2

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