Models of parenting: implications for adolescent well-being within different types of family contexts

Abstract

The paper sets out to consider models of parenting and parent-child relationships in early to middle adolescence. The principal concern is to examine the implications of various approaches to parenting for adolescent functioning, including school integration and psychological well-being. Particular emphasis is given to locating parenting styles and their impact on young people within a wider social context, including the composition and the socio-economic circumstances of the family. The analysis is based on data drawn from a longitudinal study of adolescent socialization (the Young People's Leisure and Lifestyles project), and replicates, with a U.K. sample, studies in the U.S. by Lamborn et al. (1991) and Maccoby and Martin (1983). The results identify four distinct types of parenting style characterized by different degrees of acceptance and control of young people's behaviour. Permissive parenting styles predominate in the sample. However, the most effective style (judged against measures of school integration and mental well-being) is an authoritative one which is characterized by raised levels of both acceptance and control. Within a minority of families there are significant problems with adolescent—parent relations. These parent-child interactions are associated with low levels of acceptance and control, with school disaffection and with poor psychological outcomes for the young people involved.