Effect of Authoritative Parenting Style on Mental Health of Adolescents: Moderating Role of Resilience

The aim of this research was to investigate the association between authoritative parenting style, resilience, and mental health in adolescents. The sample comprised of 300 high school students to university freshmen of age group 15 to 20 years. Data was collected by using purposive sampling techniques from various government and private educational institutions of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Wah Cantt. Gafoor and Kukuran's (2014) Parenting Style Scale was used to measure perceived parenting style. Resilience Scale (RS-14) by Wagnild (2010) was used to measure resilience. The mental health of adolescents was assessed by using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale developed by Tennant et al., 2007. Results of the present study revealed that authoritative parenting style was positively correlated with mental health. Results also indicated that resilience moderated authoritative parenting style with mental health. Furthermore, results demonstrated that males have better mental health as they are more resilient compared to females. Moreover, this study provides strong evidence highlighting the crucial role of parenting on mental health which will help the parents to adopt positive and beneficial rearing practices and to avoid toxic upbringing patterns.