A Study on Perceived Parenting Styles and Self-Esteem Among Emerging Adults

Abstract

Parenting experiences play a crucial role in shaping an individual's psychological development, particularly during emerging adulthood. Among the various psychological outcomes influenced by family experiences, self-esteem is considered fundamental to emotional well-being, self-worth, and overall psychological adjustment. The present study aims to examine the role of perceived parenting styles in shaping self-esteem among emerging adults. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between perceived parenting styles and self-esteem, gender differences in self-esteem and differences in self-esteem across perceived parenting styles. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 100 emerging adults, comprising 50 males and 50 females. The Perceived Parenting Style Scale developed by Divya and Manikandan and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were used to assess perceived parenting styles and self-esteem, respectively. Statistical analyses were conducted using Pearson's product-moment correlation, an independent samples t-test, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS. The findings revealed significant positive correlations between self-esteem and all three perceived parenting styles—authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. No significant gender differences were found in self-esteem among emerging adults. However, significant differences in self-esteem were observed across the perceived parenting style groups, with participants perceiving permissive parenting reporting the highest mean self-esteem scores. Post hoc analysis further indicated that the significant difference was evident only between the authoritative and permissive parenting style groups. These findings highlight the importance of perceived parenting experiences in the development of self-esteem and suggest that perceptions of parental behaviour may play a significant role in shaping self-esteem during emerging adulthood.