Parenting Styles, Aggression and Alexithymia among Young Pakistani Adults

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship of parenting styles (permissive, authoritative, authoritarian) with aggression and alexithymia in emerging adult university students. Total 200 participants between ages 18 to 29 years (M=21.72; SD=1.53), 100 males between 19 to 29 years (M=21.87; SD=1.47) and 100 females between 18 to 26 years (M=21.58; SD=1.58) participated in this research. Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire and Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) were used for assessment. Correlational research design was used. Group testing was done. The results showed that permissive and authoritarian parenting styles were positively correlated with aggression and alexithymia in the sample. On the other hand, authoritative parenting style was negatively correlated with aggression and alexithymia. Authoritarian mother and authoritative mother parental style significantly predicted aggression, permissivemother and authoritarian mother parental stylessignificantly predicted alexithymia. These results highlight the significance of impact of parenting on emotional and behavioral problems in adulthood. These findings have clear implications for developing cognitive therapy based programs with a special focus on positive parenting, reducing aggression and alexithymia, particularly for the psychoeducation of offspring, parents and guardians.