The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion among Parents with Respect to the Relationship between Parenting Styles and Children's Happiness

Abstract

Aim: The present research aimed at investigating the relationship between parenting styles and children's happiness with the mediating role of parents' self-compassion among junior high school students in city of Tehran in the school year of 2018-2019.
 Methods: The study employed descriptive-correlational methodology. The population included junior high-school students with their mothers living in Tehran. Sample included 384 students along with their mothers who were selected through multistage clustering method. Three questionnaires were used in this study: Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Baumrind's Parenting Style Questionnaire, and Neff's Self-compassion Questionnaire. The collected data was analyzed through Path Analysis and Lisrel.
 Findings: The results showed that the mediating role of parenting style was not significant with respect to the relationship between self-compassion and children's happiness (p>0/05). However, the direct effects of three variables of self-compassion, authoritarian parenting, and strict parenting were found to be meaningful (p<0/05). The direction effect of dictatorial style on happiness was negative. The direction effect of self-compassion and strict style on happiness was positive. The aforementioned variables predict 49% of the score variance in happiness.
 Conclusion: The presence of self-love in parents and the use of authoritative parenting style can lead to the formation of positive behaviors in parents in a way that makes the conditions of family life favorable for children and increases happiness in children.