An Assessment of the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Self-Esteem among Children in Late Childhood and Adolescence: A Case of Tumaini Primary School in Kayole Zone, Embakasi West Sub-County, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Globally, parents are using different parenting styles to raise their children which is known to have an impact on their self-esteem development. This in turn impairs their overall well-being and development in different aspects of their lives. The objectives of the study were to establish the different parenting styles employed by parents of children aged 9-15 years old; assess the type of self-esteem associated with different parenting styles among the children in the target population; and evaluate the relationship between socio demographic characteristics of the children, their self-esteem, and parenting styles employed among them. Both correlational and descriptive research designs were used, and the entire target population, 1201 pupils, formed the study sample. A self-administered closed-ended questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data. The questionnaire had three sections: socio-demographics, PSDQ, and CSEI. Data was analyzed via SPSS, version 20. Some of the study findings were that the authoritarian parenting style was the most prevalent (70.4% identified it) among the respondents which negatively impacted their self-esteem development (M= 34-02 ±5.38), (r= -0.51); half (50.2%) of the respondents concealed their self-esteem status; the authoritarian and dismissive parenting styles exhibited high defensiveness(r=0.35, r=0.011), respectively; respondents parents’ ages influenced both variables – mothers (p=0.005, p=0.011) and fathers (p=0.000); and single mother households (p=0.001) significantly influenced both variables. Among other recommendations, the study recommends the provision of more available counseling services to children in late adulthood and adolescence and sensitization of parents on the different parenting styles as well as the effect of each style on children’s self-esteem development.