Relationship between Parenting Style, Alexithymia and Aggression in Emerging Adults

Abstract

Alexithymia has been linked to reduced emotional awareness and increased aggression. One line of evidence suggests that authoritarian parenting contributes to the development of alexithymia. To elucidate the relationship between experienced parenting style, alexithymia and aggression the Parental Authority Questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire were administered to a group of emerging adults. Current findings show a positive relationship between: (i) authoritarian parenting style and alexithymia, (ii) alexithymia and aggression, iii) authoritarian parenting style and aggression. This study also found that paternal authoritarian parenting predicted alexithymia and aggression when controlling for maternal authoritarian style, but not the other way round. In addition, alexithymia mediated the relationship between paternal authoritarian parenting and aggression when controlling for maternal authoritarian style suggesting that elevated alexithymia which is likely to be a consequence of authoritarian parenting, especially when it is practiced by a father, contributes to increased aggression in adulthood.

Interpersonal Problems as Mediator Between Parental Rearing Styles and Internalizing-Externalizing Problems in Adolescents

“…Children do not only inherent physical features but also acquire and learn identity, values, interpersonal skills, self-esteem, and self-concept (Rohner, 2004;Shim & Lim, 2019). Affectionate, warmth, positive, caring, and supportive relationship with parents aids the children to develop aninternal model (Bowlby, 1982) which assist to provide a safe and secure base to build a sense of security and to develop healthy social interactions (Aytac et al, 2019;Backman et al, 2018;McErlean & Lim, 2020). Furthermore, parental warmth and acceptance may protect from internalizing-externalizing problems, however, parental rejection and control may lead to numerous internalizing-externalizing issues (Baumrind, 1966;Rohner, 1986).…”

“…On the other hand, low parental emotional responsiveness, and communication, controlling, punitive, rejecting, and harsh parenting is associated with adverse consequences including depression, anxiety, stress, aggression, social isolation, loneliness, substance use, and selfinjurious behaviors (Haslam, Poniman, Filus, Sumargi, & Boediman, 2020;King, Boyd, & Pragg, 2017;Yurasek et al, 2019). Researchers explored that parenting styles have a significant impact on adolescents' adjustment and subsequent development of internalizingexternalizing problems (Aytac, Pike, & Bond, 2019;McErlean & Lim, 2020;McKinney & Kwan, 2018;Shim & Lim, 2019;Zubizarreta, Calvete, & Hankin, 2019). Bowlby (1973) also emphasized the parentchild emotional bonding and its influence on the psychosocial functioning, interpersonal relationships, and well-being of children and adolescents (Haslam et al, 2020;McErlean & Lim, 2020).…”

“…Researchers explored that parenting styles have a significant impact on adolescents' adjustment and subsequent development of internalizingexternalizing problems (Aytac, Pike, & Bond, 2019;McErlean & Lim, 2020;McKinney & Kwan, 2018;Shim & Lim, 2019;Zubizarreta, Calvete, & Hankin, 2019). Bowlby (1973) also emphasized the parentchild emotional bonding and its influence on the psychosocial functioning, interpersonal relationships, and well-being of children and adolescents (Haslam et al, 2020;McErlean & Lim, 2020). Similarly, Rohner (1986) posited that a higher level of parental warmth and parental acceptance is likely to link with several positive outcomes like well-being, quality of life, school performance, psychological adjustment, and lower level of internalizingexternalizing problems (Rohner, 2004;Ruiz, Carrasco, & Holgado-Tello, 2019;Shim & Lim, 2019).…”

Adolescents’ Attachment to Parents and Reactive–Proactive Aggression: The Mediating Role of Alexithymia

“…Nonetheless, it is worth noting that various studies [79][80][81][82][83] investigated the association between attachment to parents and youth aggression at large, while fewer have specifically investigated the differential influence of attachment to maternal vs. fa-thers on adolescents' aggression. These studies suggested that insecure attachment to fathers, and paternal practices in general, greatly predict increased aggression during adolescence [4,84,85]. Yet, the protective role of secure attachment to mothers was also reported regarding adolescents' aggressiveness [63,86], which was also supportive of adolescents' prosocial behaviors [86].…”

Hubungan antara Kecenderungan Alexithymia dengan Agresivitas pada Usia Remaja

“…(2015) menemukan individu dengan alexithymia memiliki tingkat agresi yang lebih tinggi dibandingkan individu non-alexithymia. Penelitian Janik McErlean & Lim (2019) dan Li, dkk (2020) juga menemukan bahwa terdapat hubungan positif antara alexithymia dan agresi. Sebaliknya, de Schutter, dkk.…”