The association of parenting style on depression, anxiety and stress among Tamil speaking adolescents in the Colombo city

Introduction: Globally, studies have identified varied associations between the four key parenting styles and adolescent depression, anxiety and stress. However, such studies are rare in Sri Lanka, especially among Tamil speaking adolescents.

Objective: To assess the association between perceived parenting style on depression, anxiety and stress among Tamil speaking adolescents in the Colombo city.

Method: A cross sectional study design was used with a sample of 232, 15- to 18-year-old adolescents attending government schools in the Colombo city, chosen through a stratified random sampling technique. The Scale of Parenting Style and the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 were used along with a demographic questionnaire. The standardized scales showed good validity and reliability properties amongst the Sri Lankan Tamil speaking population.

Results: Authoritative parenting style was associated with a lower level of depression when compared to neglectful parenting style (p = 0.000134, p < 0.001). Likewise, authoritative parenting style was associated with a lower level of stress when compared to neglectful parenting style (p = 0.001713, p < 0.01). However, amongst these two parenting styles, there was no impact on adolescent anxiety (p = 0.05176, p > 0.05). Further, as the parents’ controlling behaviour increased, it had a negative significant association with depression (r = -0.26, p = 0.000048), anxiety (r =-0.13, p = 0.0453) and stress (r = -0.19, p= 0.00289). And, as parental responsiveness towards the adolescent increased, it had a significant negative association with depression (r = -0.28, p = 0.000014), anxiety, (r = -0.2, p = 0.00248) and stress, (r = -0.26, p = 0.000049). 

Conclusions: The study indicates that certain parenting styles has a significant impact on adolescent depression, anxiety and stress. The authoritative parenting style was identified as the most favourable whereas the neglectful parenting style was identified as the worst.

Sri Lanka Journal of Child Health, 2018; 47(4): 342-347