Perceived Parenting Styles and Adjustment during Emerging Adulthood: A Cross-National Perspective

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to determine whether the influence of parenting style on children’s wellbeing is sustained during emerging adulthood. This is a stage in which young people, despite feeling themselves to be adults, often remain in the family home and continue to be financially dependent on their parents. Moreover, since parents’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are constructed and interpreted within their cultural milieu, the study also aims to explore the situation in Spain (SP) and Portugal (PT). Those two Southern Europe countries are representative of what is known as the “family welfare regime”, in which the family acts as the main provider of care and security not only during childhood, but also during emerging adulthood. Thus, the present study examines, from a cross-cultural perspective, the relationship between perceived parenting styles and psychological adjustment among a sample of 1047 emerging adults from Spain and Portugal. The results reveal that the most beneficial styles during this stage are the authoritative and permissive ones, with the authoritarian style being more closely related to psychological distress. The study highlights intercultural similarities and the positive role played by more symmetrical relationships in the adjustment of emerging adults in both countries.

Antisocial Personality Problems in Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Family Functioning, Impulsivity, and Empathy

“…In this field, some studies have shown that social role changes occurring during emerging adulthood, including the presence of romantic relationships and employment, may exert a protective role on desistance from problem behaviors [ 27 , 28 ], with a significant increase in prosocial activities and a decrease in antisocial attitudes [ 29 ]. Despite these potential benefits, in the last decade, social and economic changes have resulted in a delay in the acquisition of these traditional adult social roles to which emerging adults increasingly tend to have access around age 30 [ 30 ], with a consequent increase in staying in the family home [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. Moreover, some authors have suggested that previous parental influence could be internalized and continue to affect emerging adults’ psychological well-being even if the youth lives outside the family home [ 15 , 34 ].…”

“…Recently, the same associations have been reported also with antisocial traits and delinquency [ 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], but focusing almost exclusively on adolescent samples. Only a few studies have explored the association between family functioning and ASPD symptoms among the emerging adulthood population [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 46 ], although the important role played by emerging adults’ family functioning for their psychological well-being has been widely shown [ 33 , 47 ]. Regarding individual vulnerability factors, the presence of specific personality traits can further promote the onset or maintenance of youths’ antisocial personality problems [ 48 , 49 ].…”

Adolescent Perception of Maternal Practices in Portugal and Spain: Similarities and Differences

“…In contrast, Portuguese parents exhibited more positive parenting, psychological control, and behavior control than parents from the Netherlands [31]. A recent study has analyzed the distribution of parenting styles among the Spanish and Portuguese, but focused on emerging adults between 18-30 years old and no adolescents [40]. In relation to the effects of parental socialization on adolescent outcomes, results were similar in both countries.…”

Gender Differences in Perceived Family Involvement and Perceived Family Control during Emerging Adulthood: A Cross-Country Comparison in Southern Europe

“…Considering the difficulties, the delays and the setbacks usually observed until the youth can establish him/herself in the labor market and make a living independently (Moreno & Marí-Klose, 2013 ), this is in fact, a period in which emerging adults may be most in need of family support (Hood et al, 2013 ). Accordingly, in comparison with their counterparts from other European regions, Southern European youths tend to attach greater importance to the role of the family during the coming of age process (Iacouvou, 2010 ; Moreno et al, 2012 ; Oliveira et al, 2014 ; Parra et al, 2019 ). The salient role played by the family may also be observed in the fact that these youths tend to spend this period of their lives under the parental roof, thereby extending the cohabitation period of the two generations (Coimbra & Mendonça, 2013 ; Oliveira et al, 2014 ; Mendonça et al, 2009 ; Parra et al, 2019 ).…”