Effects of Parenting Styles on Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Stress in Spanish Adolescents.

María C Fuentes,Francisco Pérez-González,Dolores Sancerni,Rafael García-Ros

doi:10.3390/ijerph16152778

María C Fuentes, Francisco Pérez-González + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152778

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Abstract

Research has repeatedly highlighted the important influence of parental socialization styles on children’s psychosocial adjustment. However, previous studies about their effects on school adjustment have traditionally addressed a limited set of indicators, such as academic achievement or self-concept, which should be broadened in order to increase our level of knowledge about this topic. Thus, the aim of the present study was to analyze the relationships between parenting styles and other relevant school adjustment criteria (self-regulated learning and academic stress) in adolescence. The study participants were 437 Spanish adolescents (44.7% men) from 12 to 18 years old (M = 14.55, SD = 1.80) who were enrolled in high school. A multivariate factorial design (parenting × sex × educational level) was used for each set of criteria. The results are consistent with previous research, showing that the indulgent style was related to better school adjustment during adolescence, evaluated through self-regulated learning and academic stress, thus increasing the available evidence about the influence of parenting styles in this setting. Additionally, this relationship remains invariant with regard to sex and the educational level of the participants in the study. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of parenting practices related to high acceptance/involvement for the adequate school adjustment of Spanish adolescents.

Highlights

In recent years, empirical evidence has consistently shown the importance of family socialization in children’s adjustment, pointing out its influence on their psychosocial adaptation and wellbeing [1,2], with this influence lasting until adulthood [3,4].The different patterns of practices that define parents in the socialization process have traditionally been studied using a theoretical model with two large theoretically independent dimensions, usually called acceptance/involvement and strictness/imposition in the literature [5,6]
This study focused on analyzing the relationship between parenting styles and two constructs that have received special attention in educational research in recent decades: self-regulated learning (SRL) and academic stress as an indicator of subjective wellbeing in adolescence
Based on the empirical evidence obtained in previous research on general psychosocial adjustment and, school adjustment, we expected that the parenting style mainly characterized by high warmth and low strictness, the indulgent style, would be related to the best results, or at least the same results as the parenting style characterized by high warmth and high strictness, the authoritative style, for the different criteria evaluated

Summary

Introduction

The different patterns of practices that define parents in the socialization process have traditionally been studied using a theoretical model with two large theoretically independent dimensions, usually called acceptance/involvement and strictness/imposition in the literature [5,6]. Each dimension is represented by a set of parental practices that define these ways of behaving. The degree to which these practices are used can vary, the results of different studies have concluded that their relationships with the dimension they represent remains invariant [7]. On the one hand, the acceptance/involvement dimension is defined by the degree to which the parents make use of practices related to showing affection, support, and emotional involvement, as well as communication and the use of reasoning to modify poorly adjusted behaviors. The degree to which parents make use of practices related to parental firmness and imposition to establish limits

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