Effect of Perceived Parenting Styles on Coping Flexibility in Young Adults

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of  perceived parenting styles on coping flexibility among young adults. Parenting styles, based on structure, presence and social support were divided into four subtypes, mainly; authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting, permissive parenting and neglectful parenting (Baumrind, 1994). Coping flexibility, described by Kato (2013), as the process of changing the ineffective coping strategy with the effective ones during challenging or stressful situations. This study aims to examine the differences in parenting styles and coping flexibility between undergraduate and graduate students aged 18 to 25 by using the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) and Coping Flexibility Scale (CFS). A sample of 200 young adults (111 females and 89 males) aged 18-25 years was taken for this study. Results suggest that authoritative parenting was significantly correlated with effective coping flexibility, while authoritarian parenting had a negative impact on coping flexibility among children. Study also reveals no gender difference in parenting styles of male and female young adults. This study highlights how different parenting styles had a significant role in coping flexibility among children.