Child Response Styles to Parenting and Mental Health among Adolescents in Embakasi East sub county, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

Children’s reaction to their parents is likely to have significant impacts on their mental health. Positive reactions to parents are prone to promote feelings of safety, security and trust which are essential for healthy development of a child. On the other hand, negative reactions to parents may tend to stimulate feelings of fear, uncertainty and anxiety which can negatively impact a child’s mental health. Many studies have been carried out on how parents take care of their children. However, not much has been explored on the manner in which children react on the way they are being brought up. It is thus important to explore how children react towards their parents and the effects it has on their mental health. The study was anchored on Bowlby’s attachment theory and employed a quantitative approach, descriptive research design. The sample population was 250 consisting of male, female and others aged 15 – 18 living in Embakasi East sub county, Nairobi County, Kenya. Convenience sampling technique was used to get the final sample from potential participants who were willing and met the requirements needed for participation in the survey. Data was collected using sociodemographic questionnaire, child response style by Egunjobi (2021)to evaluate child response styles to parenting and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) to determine their mental well-being. Data was coded in SPSS and analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the results, it was alluded that adherer was the most child response style (M = 3.56) followed by nonchalant response style (M = 2.53).The falser response style was at (M=2.13) and lastly the rejector response style was low at (M=2.06).The findings revealed that adolescents who are adherers generally have a high mental health (M=3.14)compared to those who have rejector, falser and non-chalant child response styles. The study also showed that there was a weak positive relationship between adherer child response style to parenting and mental wellbeing,[r = .273, n = 250].Additionally, there was also a weak negative relationship between falser child response style to parenting and mental wellbeing,[r = -.326, n = 250].The study therefore concludes that adherer child response style to parenting positively impacts the mental health of an adolescent compared with the rejector, falser and non – chalant child response style. The study recommends incorporating healthy practices in parenting styles that encourages children to be adherers hence minimizing mental health issues among adolescents. The study findings are useful to mental health experts, teachers and parents to understanding mental health of adolescents as a result of child response styles. The findings also draw attention to the gaps in knowledge on child response styles and mental health of adolescents. The study recommends further research child response styles to parenting and other variables.