Raising Children with Poor School Performance: Parenting Styles and Short- and Long-Term Consequences for Adolescent and Adult Development

• Main Authors: Oscar F. Garcia, Emilia Serra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-03-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: parenting styles; school performance; adolescence; adult development; culture
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/7/1089

This study examines the correlates of authoritative (warmth and strictness), indulgent (warmth but not strictness), authoritarian (strictness but not warmth), and neglectful (neither warmth nor strictness) parenting with short- and long-term socialization outcomes in adolescents and adults, with and without poor school performance during adolescence. Short- and long-term socialization outcomes were captured by multidimensional self-esteem (academic/professional, emotional, and family), psychological maturity (self-competence, social competence, and empathy), and emotional maladjustment (nervousness, emotional instability, and hostility). Participants (1195 female and 874 male) consisted of a community sample of adolescents (<i>n</i> = 602), young adults (<i>n</i> = 610), middle-aged adults (<i>n</i> = 469) and older adults (<i>n</i> = 388). Design was a 4 &#215; 3 &#215; 2 &#215; 4 MANOVA (parenting style &#215; school performance &#215; sex &#215; age). Results indicated that the relationship between parenting styles and children&#8217;s socialization outcomes does not vary as a function of school performance. The link between parenting styles and socialization outcomes shares a common short- and long- term pattern in adolescents and adults: Indulgent parenting was related to equal or even better socialization outcomes than authoritative parenting, whereas authoritarian and neglectful styles were associated with the worst socialization outcomes.