Parental rearing styles as the predictors of internalised and externalised problems of adolescents

Abstract

Adolescence is a period that bears a particular risk for the occurrence of difficulties in psychosocial adaptation. This research was aimed at investigating the predictive power of father’s and mother’s rearing styles for the level of internalised (more spe-cifically, anxiety as a trait) and externalised problems on the sample of adolescents (212), aged 12 to 18. The following instruments were used in data collection: the Parental Rearing Style Scale, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI–Y). The obtained results indicate that an emotionally cold father’s style of rearing and the restricting style of rearing of both parents are significant predictors of the level of general anxiety. When it comes to externalisation, it is shown that cold father’s style of rearing is the only significant predictor. The results may contribute to a better understanding of the adaptive capacities of a child and the family in coping with the critical phases in the development of children and youth.