Remembered Parenting Styles and Adjustment in Middle and Late Adulthood

Abstract

Authoritative parenting is the parenting style often associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents. This study considers whether remembered parenting styles in childhood predict multiple dimensions of functioning in adulthood. We used the 1995 National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States data set (N = 2,232) to assess the association between parenting behaviors remembered from childhood-classified as authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and uninvolved-and psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, and substance abuse, in a subsample of mid- and later-life adults. Differences in outcomes by sex, race, and childhood socioeconomic status were also examined across parenting styles. Adults who remembered authoritative compared with authoritarian and uninvolved parents reported greater psychological well-being and fewer depressive symptoms, and those with uninvolved parents noted greater substance abuse. No outcome differences were found between remembered authoritative and indulgent parenting styles. A few sex and race interactions were identified: Authoritative parenting (compared with uninvolved) was more strongly associated with men's psychological well-being than women's, and authoritative parenting (compared with authoritarian) predicted reduced depressive symptoms for Whites more than non-Whites. There is some support that remembered parenting styles continue to be related to functioning across the lifespan. There is also evidence of resiliency, flexibility, and malleability in human development.