Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences MAMEE 2022

Volume 5 (2022)

The Relationship between Parenting Style and Self-Esteem in

Adolescents
Siyi Kou *
Department of Psychology, Penn State University, Pennsylvania, United States
* Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

Abstract. This article reviewed the effect of four parenting styles (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian,
permissive, and rejecting/neglectful parenting) on self-esteem and psychological outcomes in
adolescents, such as well-being, life satisfaction, and school performance. It was found that
parenting styles directly impact psychological outcomes. More specifically, a positive parenting style
increases the life satisfaction and well-being of young adults. The results of this review also indicate
the negative side of inappropriate parenting style, which increases adolescents' aggression.
Aggression is a serious problem for adolescents, which normally leads them to be involved in criminal
activities. Aggression might also cause mental health problems. Parents who are irresponsible are
likely to increase the tendency of aggression in adolescents. Non-aggressive adolescents showed
higher self-esteem than aggressive adolescents. Furthermore, the article also reviewed the
relationship among self-esteem, parenting styles, and learning. Self-esteem serves as a mediator
between parenting style and learning. The level of self-esteem increased by a positive parenting
style can indirectly impact school performance, such as academic procrastination and self-regulated
learning. A high level of self-esteem can decrease academic problems, and it also can facilitate the
development of self-confidence, which is positively correlated with academic performance. However,
previous studies did not investigate differences of this relationship in boys and girls. Future research
should focus more on gender differences. This review can provide some guidance for the family
education programs at school and relevant intervention studies.

Keywords: Parenting style; Self-esteem; Adolescence.

1. Introduction
The relationship between parent and child is a popular topic in psychology. Psychologists divided
parenting styles into four different types which are authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and
rejecting or neglectful. Parents with an authoritative parenting style tend to display high control and
warmth toward children. Authoritative parents tend to be supportive and responsible guides for their
children. Authoritarian parenting style refers to a parenting approach that is high in control and low
in warmth. The parents are eager to control everything for their children without warm concerns.
Permissive parenting indicates a decrease in control and a increase in warmth. Permissive parents
usually do not control or regulate their children. Rejecting or neglectful parenting refers to low on
both control and warmth. The parents are irresponsible to their children and are usually absent from
their development. Parenting style impacts children in various ways. More specifically, children's
relationship with their parents can impact their grades and performance in school. Depending on a
previous review, Sepra states that parents with an authoritative parenting style are likely to improve
their children's school performance because they always give their children enough emotional
security and explanations of their boundaries. Furthermore, children can be benefited from
developing an optimistic personality [1]. Children with optimistic personalities can form healthy
relationships with their classmates or teachers. Parents with an authoritarian parenting style tend to
restrain their children's school performance. Because authoritarian parents are always inclined to be
extremely strict with their children and may cause children to lose interest in studying. A permissive
parenting style also negatively impacts children's achievement. These parents have a lower
expectation for their children's performance. Parents' low expectations can lead the children to have
lower requirements for themselves [1]. In short, parents are essential for children's development.
Their behaviors would impact children's future life.
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Self-esteem indicates how people value themselves. Different levels of self-esteem can lead to
different outcomes of children’s development, especially on personality. A high level of self-esteem
usually enhances adolescents’ development by improving self-confidence and self-worth. It also
demonstrated a positive influence on mental health. According to a previous study, Moksnes and his
colleagues state that increases in self-esteem predicted a significant decrease in depression and
anxiety [2]. Individuals with high self-esteem exhibited an optimistic attitude to life and a solid ability
to cope with pressure. Conversely, adolescents with insufficient self-esteem are probably exposed to
pressure and anxiety more. These individuals struggle to cope with life and work stress which may
lead to mental health problems. However, overmuch self-esteem also might lead to a negative
consequence that causes children to evolve into selfish or arrogant personalities. Thus, both overmuch
and insufficient self-esteem negatively affects people, especially young adults. The primary topic of
this article is to review the effect of different parenting styles on self-esteem and psychological
outcomes during adolescence. Parenting style and self-esteem are two major topics in children's
development areas and most studies examined these two factors separately. This paper reviewed how
parenting style and self-esteem impact each other and how these two variables impact children's
development together. It can provide some suggestions to future intervention studies and relevant
practices regarding family education.

2. The Effects of Parenting Style on Self-Esteem and Psychological Outcomes

2.1 Parenting Style, Self-Esteem, and Identify Development
Self-esteem is an essential factor in the development of adolescents. Different styles of parenting
impact children's self-esteem in various ways. According to the study by Aremu and his colleagues,
authoritative parenting styles positively influenced children's self-esteem. The authoritarian,
permissive, and neglectful parenting styles negatively affected children's self-esteem [3]. The
authoritative parenting style is the only one that shows a positive association with self-esteem because
children feel the warmth from their parents. Authoritative parents are more willing to guide children
with a positive attitude. For example, they are generous in praising their children. Praising always
increases self-confidence. When children make mistakes, authoritative parents talk about the reason
and solution of the mistake with their children kindly rather than harshly criticizing on them. Thus,
children with authoritative parents tend to present high self-esteem. Authoritarian parents often
exhibit a higher level of requirements but a lower level of responsiveness to children. Children
typically feel a high level of negative attitude from authoritarian parents. When children make
mistakes, authoritarian parents use sharp criticism instead of reasoning with children. Criticism
efficiently decreases people's confidence. A parent with a permissive style demonstrates less
requirement and more warmth. Adolescents with permissive parents have extremely high self-esteem.
This type of child typically lacks politeness and respect for others. Because of their self-centered
personalities, children under a permissive parenting style usually find it hard to make friends.
Insufficient friendship and negative relationships with other can lead to a decrease in self-esteem.
Children cannot feel any love from neglectful parents. Children received neglectful parenting usually
have a lower level of self-esteem.
Psychological well-being is an important standard and measurement in children’s development. It
stands for happiness and health on a psychological level. Hope and self-esteem are two important
aspects contained in psychological well-being. Adolescents with higher levels of hope and self-
esteem are associated with a positive psychological adjustment. In contrast, adolescents with a lower
level of hope and self-esteem tend to have high anxiety, depression, and a high chance of suicide.
Regardless, psychological well-being is affected by parenting styles. Sashimi and his colleague
conducted a four-year longitude study and declared that among self-esteem, hope, and authoritative
parenting style, there is a positive association. There is a negative association among self-esteem,
hope, and authoritarian parenting style. Compared to authoritative style, the permissive parenting
style is related to decreases in hope and increases in psychoticism [4]. Adolescents with an

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authoritative parenting style can perceive love from their parents. Love increases their self-esteem
and hope. They tend to believe the future is full of happiness. Moreover, the authoritative parents
offered not only love but also clear rules for children. Thus, this type of child also has a low risk to
involve in antisocial problems. A high level of hope and self-esteem can lead to a less chance of
involvement in dangerous activities. Children from authoritarian families lack love and support from
their parents, which results in losing hope and self-esteem. Children are usually attached to the
negative side of life, such as pessimistic emotions. Authoritarian parents are unwilling or impatient
to guide their children. Children with permissive parents also tend to have mental health problems.
They do not think about consequences while making decisions, because no one told them the
consequences. They get everything they want from their parents without any requirements. Therefore,
these children are easily involved in risky social activities because they think they can do anything.
Also, they are hard to satisfy. If individuals are not satisfied, their well-being cannot be improved.
Life satisfaction means the overall measure regarding people's desires and actual attainment. It
also is a significant aspect in children's development. Pérez-Fuente et al. state that a high level of life
satisfaction is associated with higher happiness, self-esteem, and the experience of more positive
sides of society. Parenting styles are an essential element that impacts life satisfaction. Parenting with
a significant practice of effect and communication, better self-disclosure in their relations, low
psychological control, and a high sense of humor is positively related to life satisfaction [5]. Self-
esteem is the mediator between life satisfaction and parenting style. An adolescent with high self-
esteem usually shows a high level of life satisfaction. Adolescents with an authoritative parenting
style acquire affection and communication from their parents. A healthy relationship with family can
increase children's life satisfaction. The authoritative parenting style is associated with adequate self-
esteem and an optimistic personality. An optimistic personality helps children conquer difficulties in
life. Conquering difficulties can reduce negative emotions and increase life satisfaction. In contrast,
children with an authoritarian and neglecting parenting style showed less life satisfaction compared
to authoritative style, because they have a lower level of self-esteem. The intimacy with a family
member is absent and can lead to a decrease in satisfaction. The permissive style is also related to
positive life satisfaction because it gives children a high level of love and support. Finally, developing
self-esteem and positive emotion is essential to increase life satisfaction. Therefore, great satisfaction
is associated with high love, happiness, and self-esteem.
2.2 Parenting Style, Agression, and Self-Esteem
Aggression is a significant health issue for adolescents. Aggressive individuals usually show
violent behaviors toward others. Aggressive young adults are generally difficult to blend into society.
They possess fewer friends and are often involved in criminal activities. Aggressive adolescents also
show a lower level of self-esteem than typically developing individuals. Parenting styles can have a
strong influence on the aggression of adolescents. Perez-Gramaje and his colleagues indicate that
aggressive and typically developing adolescents both showed the highest scores on self-esteem only
in warm families (indulgent and authoritative). In contrast, nonaggressive teenagers indicated higher
self-esteem than aggressive teenagers in authoritarian and neglecting families [6]. Authoritative and
indulgent parents showed more patience and warmth to their children. Aggressive adolescents need
more concern and warmth. Authoritative and indulgent parents are inclined to spend time with them.
Aggressive adolescents usually show lower self-esteem than non-aggressive adolescents. However,
in an authoritative family, parents use love to help adolescents improve their self-esteem. Parents
from authoritarian and neglecting families lack warmth and patience. They also are not willing to
spend time with their children. Some parents even ignore the problem. They are even unaware of how
serious the problem is because these parents may be aggressive themselves as well. They may think
aggression is normal behavior. If parents are not aware of the seriousness of the problem, children
are difficult to improve. Therefore, aggressiveness needs to be treated with love and patience from
parents.

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3. The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem in The Relationship between Parenting

Style and Learning
School performance stands as an influential factor in measuring adolescents’ learning ability. It is
usually indicated by a grade. School performance is impacted by other people such as parents,
teachers, and classmates. Regardless, parents is a significant influence of students’ school
performance. The study habitat is always formed in early childhood. Parents have a huge
responsibility toward children’s habitation formation. As mentioned above, different parenting styles
have different influences on school performance. More detailed, self-esteem is a mediator between
parenting style and school performance. A previous study stated that the authoritative element in
parenting provides the drive to succeed academically in adolescents [7]. This also can be proved that
the authoritative parenting style is the possible style to improve school performance because it can
lead to a high level of self-esteem for children. A high- level of self-esteem develops a high level of
self-confidence and self-trust which helps students succeed in academics. For instance, a student with
a high level of confidence can easily earn a positive impression of the teacher by answering questions
in class and asking professional questions during office hours. It is also rare for them to have test or
presentation anxiety. They are always very confident about their ability and performance. In
distinction, lower self-esteem is triggered by permissive, authoritarian, and neglecting parenting,
which resulted in a lower level of self-confidence and self-trust. These children tend to be nervous in
lectures and communication because they are afraid of making mistakes. For example, they may be
unwilling to answer questions and attend group work, even though it is an essential part of many
courses. Individuals are not confident about communication resulting in many negative impacts, such
as missing opportunities. A student with low self-esteem is also unwilling to ask other questions when
they are confused about homework or project. Confusion without clarification can lead to a poor
grade. To conclude, Parenting style impacts self-esteem. Self-esteem impact on student’s school
performance. Self-esteem as a mediator between parenting style and school performance.
Academic procrastination indicates poor emotional or health conditions that affect the progress of
academic performance. Academic procrastination manifests as delayed homework or project and a
negative attitude to school. Self-esteem serves as a mediator between parenting style and academic
procrastination. According to a previous study, self-esteem appears to mediate in between parenting
style and academic self-regulation, which may help decrease academic procrastination and raise
academic accomplishment [8]. Authoritative parenting style is positively related with self-esteem. A
student with a high level of self-esteem indicates a higher level of self-autonomy. They volunteer to
learn without any rules. This type of student usually has a strong learning ability and is very confident
about their ability. The study is not a difficult task for them. Autonomy in learning helps to improve
academic performance. The other three parenting styles present a lower level of self-esteem than
authoritative. A deficiency in self-esteem is increasing academic procrastination. Parents with
authoritarian parenting styles always are stringent in the study. They discipline their children with a
very severe attitude toward academics. Authoritarian parenting criticizes their children when they
make mistakes in academics, such as lower testing grades, which decreases their self-esteem and
confidence. Some adolescents are afraid to study because of their parents’ harsh criticism.
Self-regulated learning is a necessary ability for adolescents in academic activities. Self-regulated
learning refers to modify or sustain knowledge without explicit instructions. A high level of self-
regulated learning enables students to succeed in school performance. Parents play an essential role
in children's education programs and different parenting styles impact self-regulated learning
distinctively. Self-esteem can be a mediator between positive parenting style and self-regulated
learning. Authoritative parenting style can improve self-regulated learning because it provides
children with a warm environment for study. Children are more inclined to study in a relaxed
environment. Parents' concern and patience can be the key to success in education. It can help children
improve their self-regulated learning by improving their interest in their studies. In contrast, a
negative environment declines adolescents' willingness to study. Parents who are overly restricted
also harm self-regulated learning of children. Adolescents tend to be rebellious during puberty. They
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do not prefer rules from others even from their parents. Self-regulation is also impacted by parenting
style through self-esteem. In a previous study, Du and his colleagues state self-regulated learning of
adolescents is directly predicted by positive parenting style and adolescents can develop their self-
regulated ability by building self-esteem [9]. Positive parenting styles such as authoritative parenting
style can improve self-esteem. Increasing self-esteem can lead to increasing self-regulated learning.
As mentioned previously, students with higher self-esteem are more likely to succeed in school. They
have higher confidence in academics and demonstrated more positive altitude accomplishing tasks.
A lower level of self-esteem causes a negative attitude and low self-confidence. Thus, self-esteem is
a mediator between parenting style and self-regulate learning.
Imposter feeling refers to a self-denial process. People have a lower level of self-worth and tend
to deny their success. Individuals hard to believe they are worth it even if they get accepted by other
people. Females have a higher chance to experience imposter feelings than males. Self-esteem works
as a mediator in the link between parenting style and imposter feelings in female adolescents. Yaffe
demonstrates that only overprotection from paternal parenting was substantially connected with the
higher impostor sentiments of female young adults via lower self-esteem. In addition, both parents'
care was associated with the students' low imposter feelings via high self-esteem [10]. Paternal
overprotection usually causes lower self-esteem in female adolescents. Father with overprotection
wants to control everything for their children. Because of the high control and protection, female
adolescents usually lose the ability of independently thinking. They cannot adopt an independent
lifestyle and they doubt their ability for everything. Additionally, the father shows a greater influence
than the mother because of the cross-gender relationship. Adequate self-esteem reduces imposter
feeling and can facilitate female adolescents know themselves in an optimistic way by noticing their
good virtue. The authoritative parenting style also is more beneficial to improve the imposter feelings
of females because authoritative parents show more warmth to children. Female adolescents with
imposter feelings need more accompany and warmth compared to their peers. Positive and warm
parenting styles can increase the self-esteem of females and can improve imposter feelings.

4. Conclusion
This review analyzed the effect of parenting style on self-esteem and other psychological outcomes
in adolescents. Only the authoritative parenting style indicated a positive association with self-esteem
because parents in this style always demonstrated a positive attitude and emotional support toward
their children. The other three parenting styles indicated a negative correlation with self-esteem.
Furthermore, many psychological outcomes are impacted by parenting style and self-esteem. The
first major part empathized on identity development during adolescence and discussed the
relationship between self-esteem and parenting style. Second, lower self-esteem predicts a high level
of aggression. The last part presents the mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between
parenting style and learning. A positive parenting style helps adolescents increase self-esteem, which
supports young adults to succeed in academics. Plus, it also reduces some mental health problems,
such as academic procrastination and imposter feeling. The limitation of recent studies in this area is
lacking an analysis of gender differences. Only one article mentioned gender, which examined the
relationship between imposter feeling of females and parenting style. The different impacts of
parenting style on females and males should be studied more comprehensively in future research.
This review can provide some insights for future intervention studies and the design of family
education programs at schools and communities.

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