Parenting styles and its impact on children – a cross cultural review with a focus on India

Abstract

Parenting is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural factors. It is an important contributing factor to child development and childhood psychopathology. Research investigating association between parenting styles and child outcome are limited in India. This paper aims to review studies conducted in West and in India in order to study cultural differences in parenting styles and its outcome. We found that despite hypothesized cultural differences between the West and India, the effect of parenting styles on children appear to be similar across culture, and culture did not serve as a moderator for parenting style and child outcome. An Authoritative parenting styles was associated with better outcome than authoritarian and neglectful/uninvolved parenting style in both Western countries and in India. Findings on indulgent/permissive parenting style were mixed in both Western countries and in India. The article discusses cultural shift in the parenting styles, and its implications for the future.

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Parenting styles and its impact on children – a
cross cultural review with a focus on India
B. R. Sahithya, S. M. Manohari & Raman Vijaya
To cite this article: B. R. Sahithya, S. M. Manohari & Raman Vijaya (2019): Parenting styles and
its impact on children – a cross cultural review with a focus on India, Mental Health, Religion &
Culture, DOI: 10.1080/13674676.2019.1594178
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2019.1594178
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Parenting styles and its impact on children –a cross cultural
review with a focus on India
B. R. Sahithya , S. M. Manohari and Raman Vijaya
Department of Psychiatry, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India
ABSTRACT
Parenting is a dynamic process, influenced by socio-cultural factors.
It is an important contributing factor to child development and
childhood psychopathology. Research investigating association
between parenting styles and child outcome are limited in India.
This paper aims to review studies conducted in West and in India
in order to study cultural differences in parenting styles and its
outcome. We found that despite hypothesized cultural differences
between the West and India, the effect of parenting styles on
children appear to be similar across culture, and culture did not
serve as a moderator for parenting style and child outcome. An
Authoritative parenting styles was associated with better outcome
than authoritarian and neglectful/uninvolved parenting style in
both Western countries and in India. Findings on indulgent/
permissive parenting style were mixed in both Western countries
and in India. The article discusses cultural shift in the parenting
styles, and its implications for the future.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Received 16 January 2019
Accepted 10 March 2019
KEYWORDS
Parenting styles; parenting in
India; culture; child
development
Introduction
Although there is no one definitive and comprehensive theory of parenting and how it
shapes children’s development, there is sufficient evidence that parenting style has a
major influence on the development of the child (Thergaonkar & Wadkar, 2007). Models
describing the development and maintenance of childhood disorders have highlighted
the central role of parental behaviours (Clarke, Cooper, & Creswell, 2013) as parents play
a considerable role in shaping children’s emotional health, particularly during the early
years of childhood (Gar, Hudson, & Rapee, 2005). There is a growing interest among
researchers on the importance of parenting and its impact on child development, and
how experiences in the family interact with genetic factors to influence behavioural and
developmental outcomes in children (Collins, Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington, & Born-
stein, 2000).
Culture influences child-rearing practices. The type of parenting style used by parents is
often determined by their own cultural background and upbringing. However, Main-
stream understanding about parenting has been guided by Western cultural beliefs and
images about parenting, as most of the research on parenting styles are coming from
Western countries. Due to the assumption that the meaning of parenting is similar
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
CONTACT B. R. Sahithya sahithyabr@gmail.com
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE
https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2019.1594178

across cultures (Van Campen & Russell, 2010), the effects of socio-cultural differences in
parenting and its impact on the child have not been adequately addressed in India. As
a result, issues regarding the variability in the effects of parenting style in the context of
the cultural background are yet to be fully understood.
The aim of the present review is to contribute to an understanding of the meaning of
parenting in different cultures, specifically the difference between India and the Western
countries, and its impact on children.
Parenting style
The term parenting has been defined as the process or the state of being a parent, and
includes nourishing, protecting, and guiding a child through the course of development
(Brooks, 1991). Parenting style refers to a set of parental attitudes and behaviours that
parents use most often, consistently across contexts to manage their children’s behaviour,
and is determined by patterns of control, responsiveness, warmth, and punishment. While
several conceptualisations of parenting styles have been delineated, the majority of the
published studies on parenting style have focused on quantities and qualities of
parent’s responsiveness/warmth, control/demandingness, and discipline in the parenting
repertoire (Power, 2013).
Most researchers have accepted the classification of the parenting style delineated by
Baumrind (1971), who categorised parenting style into three types, namely authoritarian,
authoritative, and permissive parenting styles. Classification is mostly based on the inter-
action between parent and child along two dimensions: parental control/expectation/
demandingness and parental warmth/guidance/responsiveness.
•An authoritarian parent is less responsive to the child, is highly demanding, and grants
low levels of autonomy.
•An authoritative parent is responsive to the child, is highly demanding, and grants
autonomy.
•A permissive parent is less demanding and grants high levels of autonomy.
•Permissive parenting style was further differentiated into permissive-indulgent and
permissive-indifferent parenting style by Maccoby and Martin (1983). While permissive-
indulgent parents (referred to as permissive parents) are highly involved in children’s
lives and are highly responsive, permissive-indifferent parents (referred to as uninvolved
or neglectful parents) are disengaged, and show low levels of both responsiveness and
demandingness.
Cultural differences in parenting
Like many other aspects of human behaviour and socialisation processes, parenting styles
and beliefs are also subjected to social and cultural influences. Culture helps to construct
parenting, and is maintained and transmitted by influencing parental cognitions that in
turn shape parenting practices (Bornstein, 2012). Sorkhabi (2005) reviewed a large
number of studies and found that Baumrind’s(1971) typology is applicable across cultures,
while, parents in different cultures may endorse different styles of parenting more
frequently; all three parenting styles are found in both collective and individualistic
cultures.
2B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

Socialisation goals differ across cultures; this has an impact on parenting styles
(Jacob & Seshadri, 2013) as optimal development goals for parents vary depending
on culture. Primary cultural difference between Western and Asian culture is the
concept of independence versus interdependence (Wang & Leichtman, 2000). The
USA and Europe are examples of independent/Individualist cultures where the empha-
sis is on personal goals, while in interdependent/collectivist societies such as Asia,
greater emphasis is placed on family and shared goals above the individual needs.
Therefore, parenting practices in Western cultures promote self-expression, indepen-
dence, competitiveness, and self-sufficiency, whereas, parents in Asian cultures empha-
sise more on obedience, conformity, respect for elders and social interdependence
(Keller & Otto, 2009). As a result of varied cultural norms, the effects of parenting
styles on children’s developmental outcomes also vary among cultural groups
(Huang, Cheah, Lamb, & Zhou, 2017).
Authoritarian attitudes encompass obedience, respect for authority, and strictness.
SinceparentsinAsiaaremorelikelythanWestern parents to value interdependence,
parents in the former cultural groups hold more authoritarian attitudes than parents
in the latter groups, contributing to socialisation practices that favour authoritarian par-
enting style (Lansford et al., 2018). As a result, parent control may be more acceptable
and normal for Asian adolescents as parents generally use authoritarian styles and
foster subordination and interdependent behaviour in their children (Mousavi, Low, &
Hashim, 2016).
Less authoritarian attitudes entail the belief that the parent–child relationship is demo-
cratic so children should be able to think independently, express their ideas, and behave
freely. For adolescents in a culture of independence, parental control may conflict with
their striving for independence and autonomy. Hence, parents in Western countries
mostly apply authoritative parenting styles which encourage individualistic and indepen-
dent behaviour in their children.
Depending on the cultural context, either interdependence or independence is socially
accepted and expected as a normative developmental task, and so parenting will differ
accordingly (Albert, Trommsdorff, & Mishra, 2007). A specific parenting practice may not
have the same effects across different cultures and norms; hence it is imperative to con-
sider the cultural context when studying prevailing parenting styles and its impact on the
children.
Method of review of studies
In order examine the influence of parenting style on the development of the child in
Western countries and in India, we did a comprehensive search (Pubmed, JSTOR,
Science Direct, and Google Scholar) for research studies conducted for the period 2000–
2018 in developed Western countries such as USA, Australia, Canada, and European
countries, as well as in India. The inclusion criteria were: (i) publication in English language;
(ii) publication dates 2000–2018; (iii) target population being parents and children; (iv)
association between parenting and child outcome. This systematic review included only
quantitative cross sectional and longitudinal studies to examine the association
between parenting and child outcome. Tables 1 and 2summarises the research studies
carried out in West and in India, respectively.
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 3

Impact of parenting styles in West
Parenting styles have been well researched in developed countries, and we were able to
retrieve 57 such studies. Table 1 summarises various researches carried out in Western
countries relating parenting styles with psychological variables. Parenting constructs
that have received attention in recent research are punitive strategies, parental warmth,
overprotection and control.
Parental rejection and physical punishment were found to be consistently associated
with negative behavioural adjustment in children. It was associated with higher levels
of anxiety, depression and social phobia (Cohen, Sade, Benarroch, Pollak, & Gross-Tsur,
2008; Lieb et al., 2000; Mousavi et al., 2016). A higher level of rejection and/or hostility
among fathers was strongly correlated with somatisation (Lackner, Gudleski, & Blanchard,
2004). Parenting practices that included punitive interactions such as spanking and phys-
ical aggression was associated with elevated rates of all child disruptive behaviour pro-
blems, child aggression and bullying (Gómez-Ortiz, Romera, & Ortega-Ruiz, 2016; McKee
et al., 2007; Stormshak, Bierman, McMahon, & Lengua, 2000; Zurcher, Holmgren, Coyne,
Barlett, & Yang, 2018).
Although harsh discipline consisting of harsh verbal and physical punishment was
associated with child behaviour problems, parental warmth appeared to buffer the chil-
dren from the detrimental influences of such harsh discipline (McKee et al., 2007;
Simons & Conger, 2007). Warmth and responsiveness were consistently associated
with positive developmental outcomes including good development of inhibition
capacities in children, while children of parents who displayed low levels of warmth
showed elevated levels of oppositional behaviours (Roskam, Stievenart, Meunier, &
Noël, 2014; Stormshak et al., 2000). High maternal care was associated with lower
odds of depression, eating, and behavioural disorders (Eun, Paksarian, He, & Merikan-
gas, 2018; Milevsky, Schlechter, Netter, & Keehn, 2007), while lack of maternal care pre-
dicted self-handicapping, a cognitive strategy where people avoid effort in the hopes of
keeping potential failure from hurting self-esteem (Want & Kleitman, 2006). High
paternal care was associated with lower odds of social phobia and alcohol abuse/
dependence (Eun et al., 2018; Lieb et al., 2000), while lack of paternal care predicted
impostor feeling, where the individual doubts their accomplishments (Want & Kleitman,
2006).
Child-rearing practices such as overprotective parenting style also appeared to have a
detrimental effect on children. Overprotection was predictive of the development of
anxiety disorders independent of the cultural group. It was found to be a significant
mediator of the relationship between maternal trait anxiety and child separation
anxiety (Orgilés, Penosa, Morales, Fernández-Martínez, & Espada, 2018). Overprotection
was also associated with social anxiety, increased rates of social phobia and pubertal anor-
exia nervosa, and high depressive symptom in the offspring (Albinhac, Jean, & Bouvard,
2018; Betts, Gullone, & Allen, 2009; Faravelli, Di Paola, Scarpato, & Fioravanti, 2010;
Lieb et al., 2000; Mousavi et al., 2016; Orgilés et al., 2018; Spokas & Heimberg, 2009).
Mothers of panic disorder patients were found to be highly overprotective and controlling
(Faravelli et al., 2010), while, paternal overprotection predicted impostor feelings in their
offspring (Want & Kleitman, 2006).
4B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

Table 1. Data extraction table showing association between parenting styles and child outcome in studies conducted in Western countries between 2000 and 2018.
No. Authors Title Population Study design Study result
1 Stormshak et al. (2000) Parenting practices and child disruptive
behaviour problems in early elementary
school.
Parents of 631 behaviourally disruptive
children
Cross
sectional
Low levels of warmth were associated with
elevated levels of oppositional behaviours.
2 Aunola et al. (2000) Parenting styles and adolescents’
achievement strategies.
354 adolescents aged 14 years Cross
sectional
Adolescents from authoritative families applied
most adaptive achievement strategies.
3 Lieb et al. (2000) Parental psychopathology, parenting styles,
and the risk of social phobia in offspring: a
prospective-longitudinal community study.
1047 adolescents aged 14–17 years Longitudinal Parental overprotection and rejection was found
to be associated with social phobia.
4 Adalbjarnardottir and
Hafsteinsson (2001)
Adolescents’perceived parenting styles and
their substance use: Concurrent and
longitudinal analyses.
347 adolescents aged 14 Longitudinal Adolescents who characterised their parents as
authoritative were more protected against
substance use.
5 Querido et al. (2002) Parenting styles and child behaviour in
African American families of preschool
children.
108 female African American caregivers of
children aged 3–6 years
Cross
sectional
Authoritative parenting style was most
predictive of fewer child behaviour problems.
6 Simons et al. (2002) Discrimination, crime, ethnic identity, and
parenting as correlates of depressive
symptoms among African American
children: A multilevel analysis.
810 African American families Cross
sectional
Childhood depressive symptoms was associated
with uninvolved parenting
7 Turgeon, O’connor,
Marchand, and
Freeston (2002)
Recollections of parent–child relationships in
patients with obsessive-compulsive
disorder and panic disorder with
agoraphobia.
43 out-patients with OCD, 38 with PDA, and
120 controls
Cross
sectional
Compared with the control group, anxious
patients recalled their parents as more
protective.
8 Wolfradt et al. (2003) Perceived parenting styles, depersonalisation,
anxiety and coping behaviour in
adolescents.
276 high school students Cross
sectional
Students with authoritarian parenting style
showed higher scores on depersonalisation
and anxiety.
9 Lackner et al. (2004) Beyond abuse: the association among
parenting style, abdominal pain, and
somatisation in IBS patients.
81 somatisation in irritable bowel syndrome
patients
Cross
sectional
Higher levels of rejection and/or hostility among
fathers were more strongly correlated with
somatisation
10 Bronstein et al. (2005) Parental predictors of motivational
orientation in early adolescence: A
longitudinal study.
93 fifth graders and their parents Longitudinal Greater external control and lack of guidance by
parents in the 5th-grade year predicted a more
extrinsic motivational orientation in 7th grade.
11 Aunola and Nurmi
(2005)
The role of parenting styles in children’s
problem behaviour.
196 children aged 5–6 years Longitudinal Psychological control combined with affection
predicted increases of both internal and
external problem behaviours among children.
12 Want and Kleitman
(2006)
Imposter phenomenon and self-
handicapping: Links with parenting styles
and self-confidence.
115 Participants Cross
sectional
Impostor feelings were predicted by paternal
overprotection and lack of paternal care.
(Continued)
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 5

Table 1. Continued.
No. Authors Title Population Study design Study result
13 Milevsky et al. (2007) Maternal and paternal parenting styles in
adolescents: Associations with self-esteem,
depression and life-satisfaction.
272 students in grades 9 and 11 Cross
sectional
Authoritative mothering was found to relate to
higher self-esteem and life-satisfaction, and to
lower depression.
14 McKee et al. (2007) Harsh discipline and child problem
behaviours: The roles of positive parenting
and gender.
2582 parents and their fifth and sixth grade
children
Cross
sectional
Harsh discipline was associated with child
behaviour problems.
15 Simons and Conger
(2007)
Linking mother–father differences in
parenting to a typology of family parenting
styles and adolescent outcomes.
451 families with a child in eighth grade Longitudinal Having two authoritative parents is associated
with the most positive outcomes.
16 Chang (2007) Cultural differences in parenting styles and
their effects on teens’self-esteem,
perceived parental relationship satisfaction,
and self-satisfaction.
156 teenagers Cross
sectional
Authoritative parenting was associated with
higher self esteem and satisfaction.
17 Van Aken et al. (2007) Parental personality, parenting and toddlers’
externalising behaviours.
112 boys aged 33–37 months, and their
parents
Cross
sectional
Psychological control was positively related to
toddler’s aggressive behaviours.
18 Milevsky et al. (2008) Constellations of maternal and paternal
parenting styles in adolescence: Congruity
and well-being.
272 students in grades 9 and 11 Cross
sectional
Higher well-being was associated with either
both parents authoritative or only mother
authoritative than with no authoritative parent.
19 Paulussen-Hoogeboom
et al. (2008)
Parenting Style as a Mediator Between
Children’s Negative Emotionality and
Problematic Behaviour in Early Childhood.
196 children aged 3 years and their mothers Cross
sectional
The association between negative emotionality
and internalising behaviour was fully mediated
by authoritative parenting.
20 Cohen et al. (2008) Locus of control, perceived parenting style,
and symptoms of anxiety and depression in
children with Tourette’s syndrome.
65 children aged 9.0–16.9 years Cross
sectional
Higher rates of symptoms of anxiety and
depression were associated with more
rejecting and controlling parenting style.
21 Williams et al. (2009)Impact of behavioural inhibition and
parenting style on internalising and
externalising problems from early
childhood through adolescence.
113 children aged 4 years Longitudinal Internalising problems were greatest among
behaviourally inhibited children who also were
exposed to permissive parenting.
22 Turner et al. (2009) The influence of parenting styles,
achievement motivation, and self-efficacy
on academic performance in college
students.
264 college students Cross
sectional
Students with authoritative parenting style had
better academic success.
23 Spokas and Heimberg
(2009)
Overprotective parenting, social anxiety, and
external locus of control: Cross-sectional
and longitudinal relationships.
923 students with means age 19.7 years (SD
= 0.96)
Cross
sectional
Significant relationship between social anxiety
and recollections of overprotective and cold
parenting was found.
24 Betts et al. (2009) An examination of emotion regulation,
temperament, and parenting style as
potential predictors of adolescent
depression risk status: A correlational study.
44 adolescents aged 12–16 years, with high
scores on a depressive symptomatology
and control group of 44 adolescents with
low scores
Cross
sectional
The presence of high depressive
symptomatology was associated with a
parenting style characterised by low
nurturance and high overprotection.
6B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

25 Enten and Golan (2009) Parenting styles and eating disorder
pathology.
53 families, including 32 with a child
meeting the DSM-IV criteria for anorexia
nervosa, 18 for bulimia nervosa, and 3
diagnosed ED-NOS
Cross
sectional
Total patient Eating Disorder Index score was
significantly and positively correlated with
patient’s perception of father as authoritarian
and inversely correlated with her perception of
him as authoritative.
26 Timpano et al. (2010) Parenting and obsessive compulsive
symptoms: Implications of authoritarian
parenting.
227 undergraduate students aged 17–24
years
Cross
sectional
OC symptoms were specifically linked only with
authoritarian parenting style.
27 Faravelli et al. (2010) Parental attitudes of mothers of patients with
panic disorder.
26 mothers of patients affected by panic
disorder, 25 panic disorder patients who
were mothers themselves, and to two age-
matched control groups of healthy
mothers
Cross
sectional
The mothers of panic disorder patients scored
significantly higher on overprotection and
control.
28 Bahr and Hoffmann
(2010)
Parenting style, religiosity, peers, and
adolescent heavy drinking.
4983 adolescents in Grades 7–12 Cross
sectional
Adolescents whose parents were authoritative
were less likely to drink heavily than
adolescents from the other three parenting
styles.
29 Luyckx et al. (2011) Parenting and trajectories of children’s
maladaptive behaviours: A 12-year
prospective community study.
1049 children aged ages 6–18 Longitudinal Children of uninvolved parents drank alcohol and
smoked almost twice as much as their peers in
authoritative households.
30 Hoeve et al. (2011) Maternal and paternal parenting styles:
Unique and combined links to adolescent
and early adult delinquency.
330 Dutch families with a mid or late
adolescents ages 14–22 years
Longitudinal Neglectful parenting was related to higher levels
of delinquency in males and permissive
parenting was linked to delinquency in
females.
31 Chan and Koo (2010) Parenting Style and Youth Outcomes in the
UK.
1456 adolescents aged 15 years Longitudinal Authoritative parenting was associated with
higher self-esteem and subjective well-being,
better academic performance, and lower odds
of smoking, getting involved in fights, or
having friends who use drug.
32 Jauregui Lobera et al.
(2011)
Parenting styles and eating disorders 70 patients with eating disorder Cross
sectional
The neglectful parenting style was involved in
the specific ED symptoms as drive for thinness,
body dissatisfaction and bulimia.
33 Affrunti and Ginsburg
(2012)
Maternal overcontrol and child anxiety: The
mediating role of perceived competence.
89 mother–child dyads of children aged 6–
13 years
Cross
sectional
Children with over controlling mothers had
lower levels of perceived competence and
higher levels of anxiety.
34 Williams et al. (2012)Inflexible parents, inflexible kids: A 6-year
longitudinal study of parenting style and
the development of psychological flexibility
in adolescents.
749 children in grade 7 Longitudinal Authoritarian parenting in Grade 7 predicted
later low psychological flexibility.
(Continued)
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 7

Table 1. Continued.
No. Authors Title Population Study design Study result
35 Rinaldi and Howe
(2012)
Mothers’and fathers’parenting styles and
associations with toddlers’externalising,
internalising, and adaptive behaviours.
59 mothers and fathers of toddlers Cross
sectional
Permissive parenting by mothers and
authoritarian parenting by fathers significantly
predicted toddlers’externalising behaviours.
36 Martínez et al. (2013) The parenting style as protective or risk factor
for substance use and other behaviour
problems among Spanish adolescents.
673 Spanish adolescents aged 14–17 years Cross
sectional
Authoritarian style was identified as a risk factor
for substance use, delinquency and school
misconduct.
37 Icick et al. (2013) Dysfunctional parental styles perceived
during childhood in outpatients with
substance use disorders.
159 consecutive outpatients with DSM-IV
diagnoses of substance use disorders and
history of suicide attempts
Cross
sectional
Mother neglect dimension was significantly
correlated with an earlier age at onset of
several substances use, the number of prior
hospitalisations and of lifetime suicide
attempts.
38 Donath et al. (2014) Is parenting style a predictor of suicide
attempts in a representative sample of
adolescents?
44,610 students in the 9th grade Cross
sectional
Rejecting/Neglecting parenting was identified as
significant predictors or risk factor for suicidal
attempts.
39 Roskam et al. (2014) The development of children’s inhibition:
Does parenting matter?
421 families, with children aged 2.5–5 years Cross
sectional
Positive maternal attitude promoting discussion,
open-ended questions, encouragement, and
spending special time with children was
associated with better inhibition development.
40 Calafat et al. (2014) Which parenting style is more protective
against adolescent substance use? Evidence
within the European context.
7718 adolescents aged 11–19 years, from
Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal,
Slovenia, and the Czech Republic
Cross
sectional
Both indulgent and authoritative parenting
styles were associated with better outcomes
than authoritarian and neglectful parenting.
41 La Torre-Cruz et al.
(2014).
Relationship between Parenting Styles and
Aggressiveness in Adolescents.
171 adolescents aged 12–16 years Cross
sectional
Low levels of affect and high levels of control
were associated with the expression of
aggressive behaviour
42 Braza et al. (2015)Negative maternal and paternal parenting
styles as predictors of children’s behavioural
problems: Moderating effects of the child’s
sex.
89 children aged 5–6 years and their Parents Longitudinal Authoritarian maternal style was positively
associated with both children’s externalising
and internalising problems.
43 Mousavi et al. (2016) Perceived parenting styles and cultural
influences in adolescent’s anxiety: A cross-
cultural comparison.
227 students aged 13–18 years from various
ethnic/racial groups
Cross
sectional
Parental rejection, anxious rearing and control/
over protection were correlated to higher
anxiety independent of cultural group.
44 Berge et al. (2016) A. Role of parenting styles in adolescent
substance use: results from a Swedish
longitudinal cohort study.
1268 adolescents aged 12–13 years Longitudinal Neglectful parenting style was associated with
worse substance use outcomes across all
substances.
45 Rajendran et al. (2016) Parenting style influences bullying: a
longitudinal study comparing children with
and without behavioural problems.
162 children aged 4–5 years Longitudinal Children receiving more parent support for child
autonomy at age 4–5 years showed a
significantly greater decline in bullying.
8B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

46 King et al. (2016) Authoritarian parenting and youth
depression: Results from a national study.
17,399 adolescents aged 12–17 years Cross
sectional
Those who reported experiencing authoritarian
parenting style were more likely to report
depressive symptoms.
47 Zaborskis et al. (2016) Prevalence and familial predictors of suicidal
behaviour among adolescents in Lithuania:
a cross-sectional survey 2014.
3572 adolescents aged 13–15 years Cross
sectional
Authoritarian-repressive father’s parenting style
and permissive-neglectful mother’s parenting
style were significant predictors of suicidal
ideation and attempts among adolescents.
48 Gómez-Ortiz et al.
(2016)
Parenting styles and bullying. The mediating
role of parental psychological aggression
and physical punishment.
2060 Spanish high school students with
mean age 14.34 years
Cross
sectional
Non-democratic parenting styles increases the
risk of adolescents’bullying involvement.
49 Llorca et al. (2017) Parenting, Peer Relationships, Academic Self-
efficacy, and Academic Achievement: Direct
and Mediating Effects.
500 Spanish adolescents Cross
sectional
Mother’s permissive style is an important positive
predictor of aggressive behaviour and a
negative predictor of attachment to their
peers.
50 Kopala-Sibley et al.
(2017)
Parental depressive history, parenting styles,
and child psychopathology over 6 years:
The contribution of each parent’s
depressive history to the other’s parenting
styles.
Mothers and fathers of 392 children aged 3
years
Longitudinal Maternal permissiveness at age 6 predicted child
externalising symptoms at age 9.
51 Stulb et al. (2019) Prevalence and Predictors of Behavioural
Problems in Healthy Swiss Preschool
Children Over a One Year Period.
555 healthy preschool children aged 2–6
years
Longitudinal Inconsistent parenting and corporal punishment
were positively associated with behavioural
problems.
52 Mannarini et al. (2018) Emotion Regulation and Parental Bonding in
Families of Adolescents With Internalising
and Externalising Symptoms.
102 adolescent patients with psychiatric
disorders and their parents
Cross
sectional
Neglectful parenting style was associated with
internalising symptoms.
53 Orgilés et al. (2018)Maternal Anxiety and Separation Anxiety in
Children Aged Between 3 and 6 Years: The
Mediating Role of Parenting Style.
235 mothers with children aged 3–6 years Cross
sectional
Overprotective parenting style was a significant
mediator of the relationship between maternal
trait anxiety and child separation anxiety.
54 Zurcher et al. (2018) Parenting and Cyberbullying Across
Adolescence.
Adolescents with mean age 12 years Longitudinal For boys, authoritarian parenting served as a risk
factor for cyber bullying engagement.
55 Albinhac et al. (2018) Study of parental bonding in childhood in
children and adolescents with anorexia
nervosa.
25 girls with anorexia nervosa aged 10–17
years
Cross
sectional
There is maternal and paternal overprotection in
pubertal anorexia nervosa
56 Eun et al. (2018) Parenting style and mental disorders in a
nationally representative sample of US
adolescents.
6483 adolescents aged 13–18 years Cross
sectional
High maternal care was associated with lower
odds of depressive, eating, and behavioural
disorders.
57 Steele and McKinney
(2018)
Emerging adult psychological problems and
parenting style: Moderation by parent-child
relationship quality.
2732 emerging adults attending college Cross
sectional
Lowest rates of emerging adult internalising and
externalising problems were associated
authoritative parenting.
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 9

Table 2. Data extraction table showing association between parenting styles and child outcome in studies conducted in India between 2000 and 2018.
S.N Authors Title Population
Study
design Study result
1 Sharma and Sandhu
(2006)
A Community Study of Association between
Parenting Dimensions and Externalising
Behaviours.
240 children from the middle class
families, Patiala
Cross
sectional
Punitive, physical coercive and verbally hostile parenting
significantly predicted externalising behaviours in children.
2 Lakshmi and Arora
(2006)
Perceived Parental Behaviour as Related to
Student’s Academic School Success and
Competence.
500 High School students, Varanas Cross
sectional
Parental acceptance and encouragement scores were
positively related with academic school success and
academic competence scores.
3 Albert et al. (2007) Parenting and Adolescent Attachment in India
and Germany.
300 Indian and 310 German
mothers and their 14–17 years
old Children
Cross
sectional
When Indian mothers use more control children report less
avoidance and anxiety.
4 Thergaonkar and
Wadkar (2007)
Relationship between Test Anxiety and
Parenting Style.
207 students from 11th standard,
Pune
Cross
sectional
Statistically significant negative correlations between test
anxiety and democratic attitude of parents and acceptance
of parents.
5Rai(2008) Perceived Parental Rearing Style and Drug
Addiction among Mizo Adolescents.
50 drug addicts and 50 non drug
addicts from Mizoram
Cross
sectional
Rejection from father and mother was associated with drug
addiction among Mizo adolescents.
6 Pandey and Kumar
(2009)
Perceived Parental Rearing Style and
Personality among Khasi Adolescents.
100 adolescents aged 17–19 years,
Shillong
Cross
sectional
High level of anxiety, high anger hostility and more somatic
concern in male Khasi students and high self-esteem in
female Khasi students
7Qazi(2009) Parenting Style, Locus of Control and Self-
efficacy: A Correlational Study.
86 school students enrolled in
Classes 11–12, North India
Cross
sectional
Significant positive correlations were found between
authoritative style and Generalised Self Efficacy, internal
locus of control.
8Natarajan (2010). Culture and perceived parenting style:
implications for Interpersonal and academic
functioning in Indian and American College
students.
276 American college students in
the US and 195 Indian college
students in India
Cross
sectional
Perceived authoritative parenting was inversely associated
with interpersonal and academic problems for Indian and
U.S. college students.
9 Moitra and
Mukherjee (2010)
Does parenting behaviour impacts
delinquency? A comparative study of
delinquents and nondelinquents.
200 adolescents (100 delinquents
and 100 non-delinquents) aged
11–18 years, Kolkata
Cross
sectional
Neglectful and authoritarian parenting was positively related
to delinquency.
10 Sharma et al.
(2010).
Depression in relation to parenting style and
self efficacy among female adolescents.
98 female adolescents aged range
14–16 years and their parents,
Haryana
Cross
sectional
Authoritarian Parenting Style had significant positive
correlation with measure of depression.
11 Sharma et al. (2011) Parental styles and depression among
adolescents.
100 adolescents aged 14–16 years
and their parents, Haryana
Cross
sectional
Authoritarian parenting style has significant positive
correlation with depression.
12 Singh et al. (2012) Suicidal risk and childhood adversity: a study of
Indian college students.
436 undergraduates aged 18–25. Cross
sectional
Higher suicidal ideation, hopelessness and trauma are
reported in respondents with affectionless parental control
and neglectful parenting.
10 B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

13 Bakhla et al. (2013) Anxiety in school students: Role of parenting
and gender.
146 students with mean age of
12.71 years, Ranchi
Cross
sectional
Children who perceived their parents as authoritarian scored
significantly higher anxiety scores.
14 Radhika and Joseph
(2013)
A study to assess the parenting styles and
academic achievement of school children.
60 mothers and school going
children, AP
Cross
Sectional
Children of Authoritative parents had good academic
achievement.
15 Seth and Asudani
(2013)
The Impact of Authoritative Parenting Style on
Educational Performance of Learners at High
School Level.
1000 students, Nagpur Cross
sectional
Students with Authoritative parenting style show high
educational performance.
16 Shalini and Acharya
(2013)
Perceived Paternal Parenting style on
Emotional Intelligence of Adolescents.
973 Pre University college students
aged 16–18 years, Karnataka
Cross
sectional
Father’s authoritative and authoritarian parenting style
significantly correlated with emotional intelligence.
17 Bhattacharyya and
Pradhan (2015)
Perceived paternal parenting style and
proactive coping strategies of Indian
adolescents.
180 Adolescents from standard
10–11, West Bengal
Cross
sectional
Adolescents’perception of paternal demandingness was
found to positively predict preventive and instrumental
coping strategy in adolescents.
18 Sharma and Pandey
(2015)
Parenting styles and its effect on self-esteem of
adolescents.
120 adolescents aged 16–18 years,
Delhi
Cross
sectional
Authoritarian parenting style was found to have a significant
negative correlation with the self-esteem of adolescents.
19 Johal and Kaur
(2015).
Adolescent Aggression and Parental Behaviour:
A Correlational Study.
155 adolescents, Punjab Cross
sectional
Freedom, independence and democracy may lead to more
aggression among boys. Dominant parental behaviour is
likely to increase aggression among girls.
20 Hegde et al. (2015) Is parenting a determinant of adolescent
mental health? –A population based study in
South India.
1770 adolescents Cross
sectional
Adolescents with good IPR with parents reported to be having
a better mental health status and low involvement in
violent related activities.
21 Joshi and Dutta
(2015)
A Correlative Study of Mother Parenting Style
and Emotional Intelligence of Adolescent
Learner.
246 students aged 13–15 years Cross
sectional
Authoritative parenting was positively correlated emotional
intelligence.
22 Sandhu and Sharma
(2015)
Social Withdrawal and Social Anxiety in
Relation to Stylistic Parenting Dimensions in
the Indian Cultural Context
227 girls aged 6–11 years Cross
sectional
Authoritarian, uninvolved parenting styles and physical
coercion, verbal hostility, non-reasoning and indifference
parenting dimensions positively predicted social anxiety
and social withdrawal in girls.
23 Chatterjee (2016) Children’s Perspective on Parenting Styles: A
Developmental Approach.
320 high school students, Ranchi Cross
sectional
Adolescents having restrictive parents experience significantly
more frustration as compared to adolescents having
permissive parents.
24 Jahan and Suri
(2016)
Parenting Style in Relation to Mental Health
among Female Adolescents.
70 Female adolescents, Delhi Cross
sectional
There is a significant positive correlation between abuse
parenting style of father and anxiety.
25 Nayak and Kochar
(2016)
Role of Parenting Styles in Determining Self-
Esteem and Loneliness among
Undergraduate Students.
100 undergraduate students, Delhi Cross
sectional
Indifferent and over controlling parenting style was
associated with low self-esteem and an increased feeling of
loneliness.
26 R. Moudgil and N.
Moudgil (2017)
Parenting styles and self-esteem as predictors
of aggression.
100 students aged 18–20 yrs,
Haryana
Cross
sectional
Significant positive correlation between aggression and
authoritarian mother, and a significant negative correlation
with flexible father.
(Continued)
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 11

Table 2. Continued.
S.N Authors Title Population
Study
design Study result
27 Kumari and Kang
(2017)
Relationship between Aggressive Behaviour
and Parenting Style.
400 adolescents, Ludhiana, Punjab Cross
sectional
Parental warmth, acceptance and support are associated with
relatively low levels of children’s aggressive behaviour.
28 Amandeep (2017) Emotional Intelligence In Relation To Perceived
Parenting Style of Early Adolescents.
500 adolescents, Punjab Cross
sectional
Emotional intelligence was correlated with authoritative
parenting style.
29 Kour and Rani
(2018)
Perceived parenting style and self concept of
Indian adolescents –moderating role of
gender
200 adolescents, Punjab Cross
sectional
Positive relationship between democratic parenting styles
and self-concept of adolescents.
30 Ada et al. (2018) Study of Parenting Styles and Attachment in
Adolescents with Dissociative Disorder
40 adolescents, Lucknow Cross
sectional
Common parenting style of mothers was permissive.
12 B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

A high level of control in parents was associated with aggression, anxiety, depression,
and problem behaviours in children (Affrunti & Ginsburg, 2012; Cohen et al., 2008; Eun
et al., 2018; La Torre-Cruz, García-Linares, & Casanova-Arias, 2014; Mousavi et al., 2016;
Timpano, Keough, Mahaffey, Schmidt, & Abramowitz, 2010; Van Aken et al., 2007; Wolfradt,
Hempel, & Miles, 2003). High maternal control was associated with both internal and exter-
nal problem behaviours, and greater odds of depressive, anxiety, eating, and behavioural
disorders, and lower levels of perceived competence and externalising symptoms, while
high paternal control was associated with greater odds of agoraphobia and alcohol
abuse/dependence (Affrunti & Ginsburg, 2012; Aunola & Nurmi, 2005; Eun et al., 2018; Far-
avelli et al., 2010; Mannarini, Balottin, Palmieri, & Carotenuto, 2018). Excessive parental
control restricts the child’s development of autonomy, and affects child’s confidence
and sense of competence, especially in social situations. High control, but low guidance
by parents was found to result in extrinsic motivational orientation, and higher rates of
anxiety and depression symptoms, and aggressive behaviours in children (Bronstein, Gins-
burg, & Herrera, 2005). Children whose parents displayed autonomy-supporting behaviour
were found to have a more intrinsic motivational orientation and showed a significantly
greater decline in bullying over the years than those provided with little support for auton-
omy (Bronstein et al., 2005; Gómez-Ortiz et al., 2016; Rajendran, Kruszewski, & Halperin,
2016; Zurcher et al., 2018).
Among the four parenting styles studied, authoritative parenting style appears to have
the best positive child outcome in all the studies across ethnic groups and sex in all the
Western countries studied. Authoritative parenting style was linked to children’s well-
being across a range of domains of functioning. It was predictive of adaptive behaviours
and fewer child behaviour problems, and was found to relate to higher subjective well
being, self-esteem and life-satisfaction, lower depression and most optimal long term devel-
opment of children (Calafat, García, Juan, Becoña, & Fernández-Hermida, 2014; Chang, 2007;
Chan & Koo, 2010; Hoeve, Dubas, Gerris, van der Laan, & Smeenk, 2011; King, Vidourek, &
Merianos, 2016; Luyckx et al., 2011; Milevsky et al., 2007; Milevsky, Schlechter, Klem, &
Kehl, 2008; Paulussen-Hoogeboom et al., 2008; Querido, Warner, & Eyberg, 2002; Rinaldi
& Howe, 2012; Williams et al., 2009). Students with authoritative parents had better aca-
demic success. They not only tended to report higher GPAs, but also had a higher academic
self-efficacy, applied most adaptive achievement strategies, had active problem coping,
higher odds of staying on in education beyond school-leaving age, and lowest rates of
emerging adult internalising and externalising problems (Aunola, Stattin, & Nurmi, 2000;
Chan & Koo, 2010; Enten & Golan, 2009; Llorca, Cristina Richaud, & Malonda, 2017; Steele
& McKinney, 2018; Turner, Chandler, & Heffer, 2009; Wolfradt et al., 2003). Adolescents
whose parents were authoritative were more protected against substance use than adoles-
cents who perceived their parents as uninvolved, both concurrently and longitudinally
(Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001; Berge, Sundell, Öjehagen, & Håkansson, 2016;
Calafat et al., 2014). They were less likely to drink heavily than adolescents from the other
three parenting styles, had lower odds of smoking, cyber bullying or getting involved in
fights, and were also less likely to have close friends who used drugs or alcohol (Bahr &
Hoffmann, 2010; Chan & Koo, 2010; Luyckx et al., 2011; Zurcher et al., 2018). Further,
Parent’s warmth and authoritative parenting were protective against suicidal attempts in
adolescents (Donath, Graessel, Baier, Bleich, & Hillemacher, 2014; Zaborskis, Sirvyte, &
Zemaitiene, 2016). One authoritative parent could buffer a child from the harmful
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 13

consequences associated with less optimal styles of parenting (Hoeve et al., 2011; Milevsky
et al., 2008; Simons & Conger, 2007). Having two authoritative parents resulted in most posi-
tive outcomes, with higher well-being associated with either both parents authoritative or
only mother authoritative than with no authoritative parent at all (Simons & Conger, 2007).
Both authoritative parenting and permissive parenting styles had better outcome than
authoritarian and uninvolved parenting styles (Calafat et al., 2014). Permissive parenting
style was associated with positive outcomes such as active problem coping study (Wol-
fradt et al., 2003). Another study (Martínez, Fuentes, García, & Madrid, 2013) reported per-
missive parenting style as a protective factor for substance use, delinquency and school
misconduct. However, this does not indicate that permissive parenting style leads to
good adjustment in children, as it has also been associated with negative outcomes
such as antisocial behaviours as well (Hoeve et al., 2011; Luyckx et al., 2011). Internalising
problems were found to be greatest among behaviourally inhibited children who were
exposed to permissive parenting (Williams et al., 2009). Mother’s permissiveness was
found to predict low self esteem, aggressive behaviour, child externalising symptoms
and poor attachment to peers (Kopala-Sibley et al., 2017; Llorca et al., 2017). When
mothers were permissive and fathers were authoritarian it significantly predicted externa-
lising behaviours, suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents, whereas, when
mothers were authoritarian and fathers were permissive, it resulted in aggressive beha-
viours (Braza et al., 2015; Rinaldi & Howe, 2012; Zaborskis et al., 2016). However, when
both parents were permissive, it resulted in physical aggression and delinquency in
girls, but not in boys (Braza et al., 2015; Hoeve et al., 2011).
Children with authoritarian parents did not have a good outcome. They were anxious,
had lower emotional function and psychological flexibility, and were vulnerable to stress-
ful conditions (Williams, Ciarrochi, & Heaven, 2012; Wolfradt et al., 2003). These children
were prone to externalising and internalising problems, aggressive behaviours, and
were at risk for eating disorders and OCD (Braza et al., 2015; Enten & Golan, 2009;La
Torre-Cruz et al., 2014; Mannarini et al., 2018; Stulb et al., 2019; Timpano et al., 2010).
They also scored higher on depersonalisation and anxiety, and were more likely to
report depressive symptoms (Eun et al., 2018; King et al., 2016; Mousavi et al., 2016; Wol-
fradt et al., 2003). Authoritarian parenting style was also identified as a risk factor for sub-
stance use, delinquency, school misconduct, bullying and cyberbullying (Gómez-Ortiz
et al., 2016; Martínez et al., 2013; Rajendran et al., 2016; Zurcher et al., 2018).
Children raised by uninvolved parents appeared to have the poorest outcome. Adoles-
cents from uninvolved families used maladaptive achievement strategies, and those with
either parent uninvolved or both parents uninvolved scored lower on self-esteem than
participants without an uninvolved parent (Aunola et al., 2000; Milevsky et al., 2008). Unin-
volved parenting style was also associated with worse substance use outcomes across all
substances, and adolescents from such household drank alcohol and smoked almost twice
as much as their peers in authoritative households (Adalbjarnardottir & Hafsteinsson, 2001;
Berge et al., 2016; Luyckx et al., 2011). They also increased more steeply in antisocial behav-
iour, had increased internalising problems, more childhood depressive symptoms, and
were at risk for suicidal attempts (Donath et al., 2014; Luyckx et al., 2011; Mannarini
et al., 2018; Simons et al., 2002; Zaborskis et al., 2016). Mother’s uninvolved parenting
was significantly associated with an earlier age of onset of several substances use,
number of prior hospitalisations and of lifetime suicide attempts in adolescents who
14 B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

used the substance (Icick et al., 2013). Uninvolved parenting was also involved in the
specific eating disorder symptoms such as drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction and
bulimia (Jauregui Lobera, Bolanos Rios, & Garrido Casals, 2011). In addition, uninvolved
parenting was related to higher levels of delinquency in boys, and levels of delinquency
were highest in families with two uninvolved parents, and lowest in families which had
at least one authoritative parent (Hoeve et al., 2011).
Overall, our review of studies on parenting styles and its outcome in Western countries
conclude that each of the parenting styles has different effect on child development. Evi-
dences suggest that an authoritative parenting style yields positive influence on long-term
development of children, while, children of uninvolved parents are vulnerable to lesser
optimal development.
Culture and parenting styles in India
India is a diverse country with a range of languages, religions and ethnic groups all of
which have a unique influence on parenting. Traditionally, extended family members
live together and often help in child rearing. However, there has been an ongoing demo-
graphic and social change over the years in terms of family size, education, employment
and role of women. In recent years there has been a gradual decline of nuclear families in
urban areas and on rise in rural India (Registrar General of India, 2011). This may be due to
pressures of urban jobs, infrastructure and scarcity of housing, leading to families to stay
together. In addition, there are an increasing number of women who are working (Regis-
trar General of India, 2011). As a result, where both the husband and wife are working,
there is a tendency of their parents living with them to help take care of children. Not
only the grandparents, but older siblings also help care for their younger siblings in
Indian families (Seema & Begum, 2008). All this adds to the diversity of Indian families
and child-rearing practices.
Culturally, the parent–child bond is encouraged through child-rearing practices such as
breast-feeding that provides not only nourishment to the baby, but also allows increasing
physical and emotional contact between mother and child. About 55.9% (Patel et al., 2015)
to 85.6% (Nimbalkar, Shukla, Phatak, & Nimbalkar, 2013) of children are breastfed exclu-
sively for the first six months in India, which is significantly high when compared to US
where only 24.9% (CDC, 2018) of children were exclusively breastfed through six
months. Practices such as cuddling and body massage which add physical contact
between mother and child, and provides a sense of security for the child, is encouraged.
Even sharing a parent’s bed is quite common for children in India.
In addition, there appear to be gender differences in parenting style. Generally, the
father is regarded as the head of the Indian household and breadwinner of the family,
while, mothers shoulder major responsibility of the childcare, such as feeding, putting
the child to bed or maintaining discipline. Conventional gender roles in India encourage
mothers to be nurturing caregivers, while fathers have traditionally been encouraged to
have little involvement in childrearing (Barnhart, Raval, Jansari, & Raval, 2013). Mothers,
in general, are viewed as more authoritative and sometimes more permissive, while
fathers are traditionally viewed as authoritarian (Barnhart et al. 2013). However, there
seems to be a change in such practices in recent years, and the active involvement of
fathers in parenting is increasing (Bhattacharyya & Pradhan, 2015). Middle-class fathers
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 15

in urban India are becoming actively involved in their children’s lives, and are becoming
more nurturing, affectionate, and interactive in the daily lives of their children (Roopnarine,
Talukder, Jain, Joshi, & Srivastav, 1990). Father’s involvement not only suggests a cultural
shift in the parenting styles but child outcomes as well.
Parenting styles also differ across the gender of the child due to differing goals for girls
and boys. In India, gender inequality exists in the form of socially constructed, predefined
gender roles (Batra & Reio Jr, 2016). Until recent years girls were trained to be housewives,
and boys to be breadwinners. As a result, girls were given more household responsibility
than boys, and therefore girls may become independent earlier than boys where self-care
and household responsibilities are concerned. However, a girl child maybe overprotected
from the external environment, while boys are given more freedom to go out and interact
with society. It was also assumed that Indian parents prefer male child to a female child
because the son is primarily seen as someone who had to continue their lineage, and
support his parents in their old age, while the daughter is generally sent to live with her
in-laws. Such notions might result in differential treatment and training of children based
on their gender. Preference for male child may lead to rejecting behaviour towards girls
and warmth towards boys. However, contrary to these perceptions, one study showed
that fathers actually showed more emotional warmth for female child, and rejecting behav-
iour toward male child (Pandey & Kumar, 2009). Two more studies (Natarajan, 2010; Shalini &
Acharya, 2013) also reported that female college students were more likely to perceive their
parents as authoritative, and less likely to perceive them as authoritarian or permissive than
male college students. These evidences prove that contrary to popular assumptions, girls
are not rejected, and parents are quite warm towards them than towards boys, while
showing more control over boys. These findings are consistent with research in Western cul-
tures where similar gender differences in parenting styles between boys and girls have been
reported. Stephens (2009) found that fathers in the USA were more likely to be overprotec-
tive of their daughters than their sons. Barnhart et al. (2013) also observed that parents were
authoritarian with boys and authoritative with girls. More recently, a large meta-analysis in
the West (Endendijk, Groeneveld, Bakermans-Kranenburg, & Mesman, 2016) found that
parents were slightly more controlling with boys than with girls, which is similar to what
is observed in India. Hence, it is quite possible that with education, awareness, and
several initiatives made by the government of India to protect girl children, there appears
to be a social transformation, and gender discrimination associated with parenting beha-
viours are diminishing. This may be evidenced by the increasing number of women
working in recent years with almost 43% of working women in regular wage and salaried
positions (Registrar General of India, 2011). There appears to be no gender discrimination
between children of literate mothers, hence gender discrimination may be stemming
from children being born to illiterate mothers and being brought up in the more impover-
ished parts of India (Borooah, 2004).
Few researchers have attempted to compare Indian parents to those in the West to ident-
ify the differences in parenting styles. One study (Balda, Irving, Berthelsen, & Catherwood,
2001) compared Indian parents to Australian parents in their parenting styles, and found
that Indian parents were more harsh and demanding than Australian parents. Jambunathan
and Counselman (2002) examined Indian mothers living in the USA versus those living in
India, and found that Indian mothers living in India were authoritarian and favoured cor-
poral punishment more, while Indian mothers who lived in the USA tended to use the
16 B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

authoritative style of parenting. Similar findings were reported in Canada. Researchers
(Garg, Levin, Urajnik, & Kauppi, 2005) found that adolescents of European background in
Canada were most likely to report authoritative parenting, while adolescents in India
were more likely to report higher incidences of authoritarian parenting than the Canadian
adolescents. Another study (Albert et al., 2007) compared Indian mothers with German
mothers, and found that Indian mothers reported using more control and less acceptance
than German mothers. Overall, these studies indicate that Indian parents are more likely to
be highly demanding, less accepting, and use more control and harsh punishment, which is
suggestive of authoritarian parenting style. However, these studies are more than a decade
old, and may not be applicable to current times.
Parenting practices like any other social constructs change with time, increased urban-
isation, globalisation, education, intergenerational shifts in thinking patterns, changing
financial and employment statuses and role reversals. Researchers have observed that
even within India, parenting styles may vary on what parents prioritise. For example, one
research reported that mothers who valued things like “respect towards elders”and
“family honour”were more likely to use authoritarian style of parenting, whereas,
mothers who valued socio-emotional development of the child more were more likely to
be authoritative in their style of parenting (Rao, McHale, & Pearson, 2003). A much more
recent study (Bakhla et al., 2013) found that most of the students considered their
parents as democratic/authoritative (54.5%), followed by authoritarian (26%) and permiss-
ive (19.5%). Similar observations were made by Radhika and Joseph (2013) in their study.
They reported that 81.7% of mothers followed authoritative parenting style, 16.6% followed
authoritarian parenting style and only 1.7% followed uninvolved parenting style. Shalini and
Acharya (2013) also found that both boys and girls perceived their fathers to be authoritative
and not authoritarian or permissive. These studies hint that the traditional nuclear urbanised
families are giving way to parents who are more nurturing, involved, autonomy granting
and responsive to their children’s need, and less controlling and punitive. Expectations of
the children are also changing, and current generation children may be demanding more
autonomy than before. This may be due to an increase in exposure to Western cultures
through movies and social media. Saraswathi and Ganapathy (2002) also noted that
Indian parents are increasingly encouraging autonomy and adopting individualistic orien-
tation parent–child transaction thereby contributing to greater self-reliance and adaptation
among their children in the new globalised cultural interface.
Impact of parenting styles in India
Research on parenting styles and its effect on children are limited in India. We were able to
find only 30 cross sectional studies in India. Table 2 summarises various researches carried
out in India relating parenting styles with psychological variables.
Our review found that parental constructs such as warmth, acceptance and encourage-
ment are positively associated with child well being (Kumari & Kang, 2017; Lakshmi &
Arora, 2006; Pandey & Kumar, 2009; Rai, 2008; Thergaonkar & Wadkar, 2007) which is con-
gruent with findings in Western countries. Parents who were perceived as being more
accepting and less restrictive, hostile or controlling tended to have adolescents with
higher academic success and competence (Lakshmi & Arora, 2006). Perception of parental
warmth also reduced test anxiety in children (Thergaonkar & Wadkar, 2007). Adolescents
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 17

with good interpersonal relationship with parents were found to have better mental
health status and low involvement in violent related activities (Hegde, Kamath, & Roy,
2015). Parental warmth, acceptance and support were also associated with lower level
of children’s aggressive behaviour and substance abuse, while lower levels of warmth pre-
dicted conduct disorder in children (Kumari & Kang, 2017; Pandey & Kumar, 2009; Rai,
2008; Sharma & Sandhu, 2006). One study (Rai, 2008) found rejection from parents to
be associated with substance abuse. Punitive, physical coercive and verbally hostile par-
enting significantly predicted externalising behaviours and anxiety (Sandhu & Sharma,
2015; Sharma & Sandhu, 2006). Over protection and control also had negative influence
on children such as behaviour problems, expression of indirect aggression, stress,
anxiety, low self-esteem, feelings of loneliness and depression (Jahan & Suri, 2016;
Kumari & Kang, 2017; Nayak & Kochar, 2016). Thus, even in India, parenting constructs
such as rejection, punishment, and overprotection have a detrimental effect on children,
and these findings are similar to that of West.
However, findings on autonomy granting or control were not only contradictory to
findings in the West, but multiple studies within India have yielded opposing results.
For example, a study by Sharma and Sandhu (2006) found low levels of control to be
associated with aggression, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder, while
another study (Lakshmi & Arora, 2006) from the same year found that parent control
had a negative relationship with academic success and competence. Similarly, one
study (Albert et al., 2007) reported that when Indian mothers use high control, children
reported less avoidance and anxiety. On the other hand, a much more recent study
(Jahan & Suri, 2016) found that stress, anxiety, and depression were associated with
high control by mothers. Further, autonomy granting was also found to be inversely cor-
related with social anxiety and socially withdrawn behaviours (Sandhu & Sharma, 2015).
These contradictory findings may be due to the effect of moderating variables such as
child temperament. Hence, further research studies are required to establish a relationship
between control and child outcome in the Indian context.
The effect of control is also moderated by gender. Johal and Kaur (2015) reported that a
high level of control was associated with aggression among girls, while, lack of control pre-
dicted aggression in boys. This means that more freedom, independence and democracy
might lead to more aggression in boys, and lack of it may lead to aggression in girls. It is
possible that girls tend to use a more indirect form of aggression, which may turn more
direct when there is excess control, and boys who are more likely to express their aggression
as an impulsive act may be able to control their impulsivity when they have less freedom.
Amongst the parenting styles studied, all the studies conducted in India conclude that
authoritative parenting style had the best positive outcome in children. Children whose
parents used authoritative parenting style had lower test anxiety, worry, social withdrawal,
social anxiety or delinquency than children whose parents used authoritarian or permiss-
ive parenting styles. Children with authoritative parents also had higher generalised self
efficacy, internal locus of control, fewer interpersonal and academic problems, and
good academic achievement (Bakhla et al., 2013; Lakshmi & Arora, 2006; Moitra & Mukher-
jee, 2010; Natarajan, 2010; Qazi, 2009; Radhika & Joseph, 2013;Sandhu & Sharma, 2015;
Seth & Asudani, 2013; Thergaonkar & Wadkar, 2007). They also had better emotional intel-
ligence, used preventive and instrumental coping strategy, and had higher self-esteem,
self-concept, and self awareness than children exposed to other parenting styles
18 B. R. SAHITHYA ET AL.

(Amandeep, 2017; Bhattacharyya & Pradhan, 2015; Joshi & Dutta, 2015; Kour & Rani, 2018;
Shalini & Acharya, 2013; Sharma & Pandey, 2015).
Both authoritarian and uninvolved parenting styles were associated with social anxiety,
socially withdrawn behaviours, delinquency, poor academic performance, low self esteem
increased feelings of loneliness, higher suicidal ideation, hopelessness and trauma (Moitra
& Mukherjee, 2010; Nayak & Kochar, 2016; Pandey & Kumar, 2009; Radhika & Joseph, 2013;
Sandhu & Sharma, 2015; Singh, Manjula, & Philip, 2012). Absence of parental affection,
involvement and regulation, and excess of autonomy granting and indulgence were as
significant as the presence of hostile and punitive parenting in predicting externalising
behaviours in children (Sharma & Sandhu, 2006). Authoritarian parenting was also associ-
ated with interpersonal problems, external locus of control, frustration, aggression,
anxiety, and depression (Bakhla et al., 2013; Chatterjee, 2016; Moitra & Mukherjee, 2010;
R. Moudgil & N. Moudgil, 2017; Natarajan, 2010; Qazi, 2009; Sharma & Pandey, 2015;
M. Sharma, N. Sharma, & Yadava, 2010; M. Sharma, N. Sharma, & Yadava, 2011). Conversely,
two studies reported that children of authoritarian parenting style had higher self-aware-
ness and emotional intelligence (Joshi & Dutta, 2015; Shalini & Acharya, 2013).
Findings on Permissive parenting style were inconclusive. While, permissive parenting
dimension was found to be associated with externalising behaviours, external locus of
control, aggression, and lower self esteem (Qazi, 2009; Sharma & Sandhu, 2006), on the
other hand, Sharma and Pandey (2015) found no significant difference between permissive
and authoritative parenting on the self-esteem of adolescents. Some studies (Bakhla et al.,
2013;Chatterjee,2016;Sharmaetal.,2010; Sharma et al., 2011) have indicated that children
of permissive parents were less anxious, depressed, and experienced less frustration com-
pared to children of authoritarian parents. More recently, Ada, Mahour, Agrawal, Arya, and
Kar (2018) reported that most of the mothers (67.5%) of adolescents diagnosed with dissocia-
tive disorder used permissive parenting style. Hence further studies are called for in order to
find an association between permissive parenting style and child outcome, while considering
the moderating effect of child temperament, gender and socio-cultural factors within India.
Our review of Indian studies (Table 2) on parenting styles and its outcome in India
found that despite hypothesised differences in culture and parenting styles in India and
the West, the effect of parenting styles on children appear to be similar. Parents in
recent years appear to be adopting western child-rearing practices. Amongst all the par-
enting styles, authoritative parenting style was found to relate to the most optimal long-
term development in children in India. Permissive parenting style follows next with mixed
results. However, despite contradictory findings on parent control, by and large authoritar-
ian parenting style did not prove to be beneficial. Overall, Culture did not serve as a mod-
erator for parenting style and child outcome in India.
Conclusion and future directions
Parenting is a complex activity that influences the child outcomes across a wide range of
domains such as morality, self-esteem, social, academic and mental health. Changes
brought about by globalisation and urbanisation has resulted in shifts in thinking patterns
in India, which has impacted both the parents, children and parent–child interaction.
Indians appear to be coming to terms with the changes in the social milieu and changing
trends in child rearing and parenting.
MENTAL HEALTH, RELIGION & CULTURE 19

Researching a dynamic social construct such as parenting style is a challenging task. Val-
idity of parenting practices when the culture-specific“meaning”of the behaviour is not
known is difficult to interpret. For example, there are differences in how warmth is expressed
across cultures, and measuring a highly subjective construct such as “warmth”is difficult.
Parenting is a multidimensional concept, and categorising parenting style into four broad
categories is questionable, as most parents do not fit neatly into any categories. Further,
moderating variables such as non-parent caregivers and child temperament may have a sig-
nificant impact on the parent-child interactions, and are yet to be studied.
Our review found that an authoritative parenting style was associated with better
outcome than authoritarian and uninvolved parenting in both Western countries and in
India. Findings on permissive parenting style were mixed, at times contradictory, and
inconclusive both in Western countries and in India. Although traditional India was predo-
minantly collectivistic in nature and authoritarian in parenting, a gradual shift towards
authoritative parenting style is observed in recent times. These findings are perhaps the
reflection of changing societal trend.
However, there were several limitations in the researches we reviewed in India. Firstly, there
were only a handful of researches conducted in the area of parenting styles. We were able to
source only 30 such studies for our review. Most of these studies are retrospective in nature,
focused on community samples from schools and colleges with small sample size. Very few
studies had the clinical population, and studies on parenting styles and various mental
illness were limited. In addition, there are several questions that need to be answered, specifi-
cally, the differences in parenting styles between urban and rural areas, moderating effect of
extended family members who act as caregivers in absence of family members, and so on.
Going forward, crucial roles for psychologists will be to develop tools that are culturally
relevant and sensitive to capture subjective behaviours such as warmth, rejection, and so
on; and carry out both cross sectional and longitudinal research with a large nationally
representative sample in both community as well as clinical population. Such research
can have clinical and social implications, and help understand which parenting style
yields the healthiest child in the Indian culture. This will help psychologists develop
parent training modules, and also address parenting styles during family therapy sessions
to deal with those practices that put children at risk.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
ORCID
B. R. Sahithya http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9234-1552
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