Influence of parental personality on parenting styles: A scoping review of literature

Abstract

Background: Parents play an important role in shaping children’s emotional, behavioral and mental health, particularly during the early years of childhood. Authoritative parenting style has been consistently associated with optimal long-term development of children, whereas, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles are associated with a variety of psychopathology in children. Parent’s personality is an important determinant of parenting. However, empirical research studies on association between parental personality and parenting styles are scattered, and little is known about the link between the two. Objective: This paper attempted to summarize available studies that have examined the links between parental personality and parenting style. Method: A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. To identify studies for the present review, a search was conducted in bibliographic databases using the keywords ‘parenting style’ and ‘parent personality’. PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) checklist was used in reporting findings. Results: The search identified 20 empirical studies that examined the association between parent personality and parenting styles. Overall, there was evidence to associate authoritative parenting positively with personality traits such as higher extraversion, openness and agreeableness, and moderate conscientiousness. Authoritarian and permissive parenting style were associated with higher neuroticism, lower extraversion, openness, and agreeableness, and very high conscientiousness. Conclusion: Theoretical and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.