Gender and family structure as moderators in the relationship between parenting styles and identity development among adolescents

[摘要] English: Adolescence is considered a crucial period for the development of an identity. Various factors affect this development. One of these factors is the perceived parenting styles to which adolescents are exposed: authoritative, authoritarian, or permissive parenting. The focus was specifically on adolescents' perception of the parenting style they are exposed to. Another factor includes the family structure in which adolescents live. The various possible family structures were grouped into either nuclear or non-nuclear family structures. Additionally, the gender of the individual can also be considered a factor, as males and females differ much with regard to the development of an identity Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the moderating role of gender and family structure in the relationship between perceived parenting styles and identity development among adolescents.A non-experimental quantitative research approach and a non-probability, convenience sampling method were utilised. A sample of 243 adolescents between the ages of 16 and 20 was recruited from a high school in the Mangaung area of central South Africa. A biographic questionnaire provided information about the participants' age, gender, ethnic group, and family structure. The Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ), which is based on Marcia's identity status theory, was utilised to measure adolescents' ego identity development, and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), which is based on Baumrind's work, measured perceived parenting style. Data were then analysed by means of various methods, including descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, and standard regression analyses.Together, the authoritarian and authoritative parenting styles uniquely explained a significant amount of variance in identity. The authoritarian parenting style explained 3.4% of the variance in identity development, and the authoritative parenting style explained 10.7% of the variance in identity development. Gender was found to play a significant moderating role in the forming of identity in the case of the authoritative parenting style, but not in the case of the permissive or authoritarian parenting styles. It was found that family structure did not play a significant moderating role in the three perceived parenting styles. It is evident from this study that various factors influence the development of an adolescents' identity.

[发布机构] University of the Free State