Changing parenting style between two generations and its impacts on the severity of behavioral and emotional symptoms.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to compare the perceived parenting dimensions in mothers and their daughters (differences between two generations), and study the relationship between these dimensions and the severity of daughters' behavioral and emotional symptoms. 300 participants (150 daughters with their mothers) participated in this study. They responded to the perceived parenting styles questionnaire (PSQ), and mothers were additionally asked to answer the child symptoms inventory-4 (CSI-4). Data analysis was done by the SPSS using the paired sample t-test and multiple regressions. The results indicated a significant difference between perceived parenting dimensions in mothers and their daughters; specifically, acceptance and control dimensions increased through generation. It was also found that daughters' acceptance-rejection dimension could predict the severity of the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders, autism spectrum disorders, depression, dysthymia, conduct disorders, and opposite defiant disorders. The control-autonomy dimension could also predict the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. The results indicate the different parenting styles between two generations and the critical role of parenting in developing the children's psychopathology symptoms.