A Study of Adolescent Stress and Parenting

Swati Shrivastava^1*, Priyamvada Srivastava²

¹ School of Studies in Psychology, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur 492010, India.

*Corresponding author: getswatishri@ gmail.com

Abstract:

The study deals with the relationship between adolescent stress and perception of parenting. The present study consists of 400 students (200 male & 200 female) from higher secondary school both govt. and private from C.G. India. Respondents were selected by using random sampling method. Parenting scale was use to assess parenting comprises of  1)Rejection Vs Acceptance 2)Carelessness Vs Protection 3)Neglect Vs Indulgence 4)Utopian expectation  Vs Realism 5) Lenient  standard Vs moralism 6) Freedom Vs discipline 7) Faulty role expectation Vs realistic role expectation 8)Marital conflict Vs marital adjustment dimension and total stress was used. To assess the stress adolescent stress Questionnaire (ASQ) originally developed by Byrne, Byrne Reinhart, (1995) Byrne & Mazanov, (2002) & translated in Hindi by the researcher was used. The parenting style scale developed by Bharadwaj, Sharma, Garg(1995) consisted of 40 items was used to asses parenting style. The Pearson product moment correlation was computed to find out relationship between stress and parenting. The correlation coefficient was found negatively significant between stress and parenting for Carelessness Vs protection, Neglect Vs Indulgence, Freedom Vs Discipline and Marital conflict Vs Marital adjustment. It indicated that the high adolescent stress is related with parenting dominated with carelessness, neglect, freedom and marital conflict as perceived by the adolescent student. It is concluded that adolescents feel high level of stress when they experience carelessness, neglect, freedom and marital parenting scale comprising of dimensions.

Keywords:  Adolescent, Stress, Parenting.

INTRODUCTION

Stress can be defined as the judgement of a situation or event as challenging, demanding and threatening (Hardie, 2005). It was stated earlier that adolescent stress often leads to negative outcomes such as drugs and alcohol abuse or even to the more severe outcomes such as depression and suicidal attempts (Byrne & Mazanov 2003).Therefore it is thought proper to study students’ perception of Stress. Stress is negative factor for the academic performance several types of studies have found that the significant negative relationship between the stress levels of college students and their academic performance (Felsten and Wilcox 1992) as well as Life stress is strongly connected with poor mental and physical health. (Cohen et al., 2007; Slavich et al.,2010 as cited in Toussaint, Shields, Dorn, & Slavich, 2016) maladaptive behaviour major cause of chronic health related diseases Pouwer, Kupper, and Adriaanse, 2010; Grigsby, Anderson, Freedland, Clouse, & Lustman, 2002; Esch et. al, 2002; Surwit, 2002; Kashinath et. al., 2014). Parenting is defined as the style of child upbringing by mother and father to prepare the child for society and culture for providing a basic for child to develop same of belonging.

Parenting plays an important role in development of depression and negative affect negative association of depression and authoritative parenting style was reported by Ebrahimi and Amiri et.al;(2017)and positive association between authoritarian parenting style and negative affect was reported by Farrell (2015).

Ebrahimi and Amiri et.al;(2017) found that significant, negative relationship between parent’s authoritative parenting style and student’s depression; a similar pattern was also seen between secure and unsure parent’s attachment style and student’s depression. There was a positive and significant relationship between parent’s permissive and authoritarian parenting style and student’s depression. There was also a positive and significant relationship between parent’s avoidant attachment and student’s depression. Farrell (2015) found that there was one significant relationship found specifically between the authoritarian parenting style and preschool-aged children’s degree of negative affect or negative temperament related to emotional intelligence. No other interactions were found between the remaining parenting styles and children’s level of emotional intelligence

 Park and Moss (2012) examined that parent distress, authoritative and permissive parenting styles, family income, and mother's education were significantly associated with children's health-related behaviours. They found that higher levels of warmth, characteristics of both parenting styles, may be a critical factor in the development of health-related behaviours.

Moksnes, Maljord and Espnes, (Year 2010) Found that the association between stress, self-esteem and emotional states (depression and anxiety) in adolescent. The results showed that girls had significantly higher mean scores on all stress domains and on emotional states as compared with boys. Boys scored significantly higher on self-esteem. The hierarchical multiple regression analysis  showed a significant association between increasing stress related to peer pressure, home life, school performance  and adult responsibility and higher levels of emotional states. The associations between stress and emotional states were not moderated by gender. A strong, inverse association was found between self-esteem and emotional states. A weak moderation effect of self-esteem was found on the association between stress related to peer pressure, romantic relationships, school performance and emotional states.

 Studies also reveal social stress among adolescents Schraedly, Gotlib & Hayward, (1999) Depressive symptoms were found to differ by gender, age, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. In addition, life stress, Social support and coping were associated with depressive symptoms. Importantly, Stress and Social support appear to be particularly salient aspects of depression among girls. Both physical and sexual abuses were strongly linked with

 Parenting relates to the upbringing of child. Parenting, as a perception of the parents of their own attitude towards the child, happens to be of great significance in the dynamics of behaviour for socio psychological researches and should be deemed most important as he is the one whose process of socialization stands for maintenance (Bhardwaj, 1996).

 Darling and Steinberg (1993), define parenting style as a constellation of attitudes towards the child communicated to the child by the parent that taken together create an emotional climate in which the parent's behaviours are expressed. These behaviours include both the specific, goal-directed behaviour through which parents perform their parental duties (what Darling and Steinberg refer to as parenting practices) as well as non-goal directed parental behaviours, such as gestures, changes in tone of voice, or the spontaneous expression of emotion.

Baumrind (1991), Steinberg, Dornbush & Brown (1992), Karavasilis, Doyle & Margolese (1999) found just as parental sensitivity and responsiveness contribute to secure attachment in infancy, parental warmth/involvement, encouragement of increasing self-control and decision making, appropriate limit setting and monitoring appear to foster secure attachment and adjustment in late childhood and early adolescence.

Dishion, Patterson, Stool miller & Skinner (1991) Conger, Patterson & Ge, (1995) found that low warmth and low control may be particularly associated with dismissing/avoidant attachment and low psychological autonomy granting with preoccupied attachment. Similarly hostile, punishment and coercive interactions between parents and children combined with poor parental monitoring have been found to contribute to conduct problems in preadolescence and antisocial behaviour in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between adolescent stress and parenting style.

METHOD

SAMPLE – The sample of the present study comprises of male and female students from different schools of Bhilai and Durg (C.G.) India.  The total sample for this study consists of 400 students 200 girls and 200 boys. All the participants were selected randomly.

TOOLS

To assess the stress adolescent stress Questionnaire (ASQ) originally developed by Byrne, Byrne Reinhart, (1995) Byrne & Mazanov, (2002) & translated in Hindi by the researcher was used for the purpose of research. It consisted of 56 items which asses adolescent’s stress. The total stress level was considered.

 The parenting scale developed by Bharadwaj, Sharma, Garg (1995) consisted of 40 items was used to asses parenting. The scale has eight dimensions that are: 1) Rejection Vs Acceptance 2) Carelessness Vs Protection 3)Neglect Vs Indulgence 4)Utopian expectation  Vs Realism 5) Lenient  standard Vs moralism 6) Freedom Vs discipline 7) Faulty role expectation Vs realistic role expectation 8)Marital conflict Vs marital adjustment.

The low scores on the scale show poor parenting rejection, carelessness, neglect, utopian expectation, lenient standard, freedom, faulty role expectation, and marital conflict.

RESULT: The data obtained was analysed using Pearson product moment correlation. The results are reported in table.

Table: Stress and Parenting:

*p<.05

**p<.01

There is significant negative relationship of adolescent stress with various dimension of parenting specifically Carelessness Vs Protection (r=-.106, p<0.01), Neglect Vs Indulgence(r=-.105,p<0.01), Freedom Vs Discipline (r=-.084,p<0.01) and Marital Conflict Vs Marital Adjustment (r=-.109,p<0.01).It indicates that adolescents perception of carelessness, neglect, freedom and  marital conflict from parents lead to stress .It means that higher the stress lower score is  on parenting dimension.

 It means that adolescent stress is having relationship with parenting style, how they perceive their parents parenting .Adolescents perception of negative parenting from their parents leads to higher level of stress in them, It has been found that there is negative association between adolescent stress and carelessness neglect ,freedom and marital conflict stress. Thus the results shows that the adolescent’s feel stress when parents are carelessness, neglect, freedom and marital conflict.

 Parenting on carelessness dimension manifests itself, when both or either parents do not pay close attention towards child’s activities thus giving an impression of unwantedness by carelessness and unthoughtful negligible behaviour towards him even in presence of his proper and worthy behaviour   in day to day matters. Neglecting the children by their parents even after conscious of their need is again injurious to their psychological health. It manifests itself in lack of attention and cooperation with them, willful ignoring them and their activities and avoidance of their genuine needs. Giving more importance to self designs of work but least attention to their feeling and needs come within purview of neglect.

 Freedom manifests itself in absence of limit or control over all matters to what they may pertain to. In fact the child is a sole decision maker of his activities. There is hardly any questioning or impediments on the part of parents. He may disregard or disobey his parents without any fear of punishment from them.

 Marital conflict affects the child as and when he/she witnesses open conflicts between their parents. The child is not able to reconcile with and it leaves a nonpalatable feeling on his mind.

DISCUSION  

Adolescent stress is significantly negatively association with parenting style Carelessness Vs protection, Neglect Vs Indulgence, Freedom Vs Discipline and Marital conflict Vs Marital adjustment. It means that parents have to be very much attentive towards their children their carelessness behaviour lead to stress.

Low warmth and low control may be particularly associated with dismissing/avoidant attachment, and low psychological autonomy granting with preoccupied attachment. Similarly, hostile punishment and coercive interactions between parents and children combined with poor parental monitoring have been found to generate conduct problems in preadolescence and antisocial behaviour in adolescence (Dishion, Patterson, Stoolmiller & Skinner, 1991; Cogner Patterson & Ge, 1995).

Many studies have been conducted in this area Dancy and Handal (1980, 1984) found that adolescent's perception of high family conflict was associated with their reports lack of family cohesion – expressiveness and religious emphasis. The adolescents from high conflict families also reported more psychological impairment and less satisfaction with their social life. Schneewind and Lortz (1978) found that parental selfcriticism, lack of expressiveness and involved with the child were associated with poor family environment.

Most adolescents seek help from their parents, as the parents are perceived to be understanding and supportive. Raymond Montemayor(1986) elicits that parents and adolescents who have good communication between them and when parenting style is helping the adolescents to communicate their stress have better relationship. And parents also facilitate the adolescents to combat stress. Rex Forehand et al (1991) Investigated on Adolescents and their parent’s stress. They found that the stress in the family like divorce, intrapersonal conflict and maternal depression leads to stress in the adolescents.

In an article by Sen. S (2006) has touched upon every aspect of the adolescence phase. Through review of research she has put forth the important aspects of adolescence. And they are: a) the role confusion among adolescents b) encouraging adolescents to explore opportunities c) Helping the adolescents with Identity crisis d) Influence on adolescents of family e) the attitude of parents towards and vice-versa.

Preethi and Rosa (2012) examined parenting style in relation to stress and self esteem. They found that there was a difference in the stress and self esteem between two different parenting styles and there was an inverse relation between stress and self esteem among parents.

Parents are expected to have knowledge of keeping good relationship with their adolescent child as it is a challenging period. Thus they have to play their role properly. Due to drastic change in present life style of adolescents the parents are unable to understand them and thus results in wide generation gap. Terry (2004) examined relationship between parenting style and delinquent behaviour in college students. He found relationship between the student’s perception of parenting style and the student’s self report of psychological problems. Students who reported experiencing an authoritarian parenting style report more problems. These students also report having more difficult temperaments. Bhushan (1993) found that openness in communication with parents is of significant, explanatory worth for the identity achievement scores of youth.

 Ong’s (2000), study in Singapore which discovered fathers being less strict and harsh as expected whereas mothers were relatively stricter and controlling. Elias and Tan (2009), also performed a study Malaysian youths and found both fathers and mothers were being perceived as authoritative instead. 

Finkenauer et al. (2005), concluded from their data of adolescents that the level of parental acceptance and control influenced children’s social adjustment. Perceiving parents as authoritarian, those who restrict and exert high level of control causes more children to response aggressively towards external factors. Hence they encounter emotional problems such as stress and depression. Parents who are strict but also show support, acceptance and are involve in children’s activities lead to more positive outcomes, which are reflected in their better psychosocial adjustment.

CONCLUSION

There is negative association between adolescents perceived stress adolescents perception of parenting style Carelessness Vs protection, Neglect Vs Indulgence, Freedom Vs Discipline and Marital conflict Vs Marital adjustment.

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