Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 664

Proceedings of the 2022 8th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2022)

The Relationship between Parenting Style and

Emotional Development during Adolescence: The
Effects of Gender Difference
Hanlin Ma1,† Hanyue Zhang2,*,†Xinyu Zhang3,†
1
School of literature, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
2
School of Economics and Management, College of Arts and Information Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic
University, Dalian, Liaoning Province, China
3
School of Design, Wuhan University of Communication, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
*
Corresponding author. Email: 161842278@masu.edu.cn
†
Those authors contributed equally.

ABSTRACT
Adolescence is the transition period from childhood to adulthood, during which a series of significant changes are
experienced. Teen emotional experience is an important part, and essential factors affecting adolescent emotional
development are from parenting. Parents have a great impact on their children’s lives, and they play an important role
in the growth of adolescents. Each parent has a unique attitude, behavior habits, and a unique family background. Plus,
the affection of every parent is also unique. The differences in parenting methods will also reflect the specific attitudes
and behavioral habits under the various educational modes. The consequences of these effects will influence adolescents’
behavioral habits, emotional development, and their social life during adulthood. This paper reviewed the relevant
literature on parenting style and adolescents’ emotional development through following aspects: gender differences,
parental emotions, attachment style, and perception or thinking patterns. To study emotional changes in adolescence,
this review studied two dimensions of development in male and female adolescents under different parenting styles and
reviewed the effects of adolescent emotional function on adulthood. Furthermore, this paper explored how parental
mood and parenting styles explain age differences in emotional experience. Finally, this review discussed the existing
limitations in research focusing on the relationship between parenting style and adolescents’ emotional development
and gender differences. Future research can explore relevant causal relationships among those differences.

Keywords: Adolescence, Parenting Patterns, Gender Differences, Attachment Relationships, Emotional

Development.

1. INTRODUCTION develop gradually during this period. There are many

ways of family upbringing and there have been some
In recent years, the emotional development of previous studies in this regard, such as Authoritative
teenagers has attracted social attention. The emotional Parenting Style, Authoritarian Parenting Style,
development of teenagers is closely related to the Permissive Parenting Style, and Uninvolved Parenting
parenting they received. Emotion is a general term for a Style. These parenting styles can trigger different
series of subjective cognitive experiences, and it includes emotions in teenagers. For instance, Findings from a
physiological state of a variety of feelings, thoughts, and study suggest that the authoritative parenting style is
behaviors. Parenting typologies, which explain the associated with the lowest levels of depression [2].
changes in parental responses and needs, reflects the Moreover, authoritarian parenting style is associated with
interactive nature of parental dynamics [1]. Parenting poor social skills, low self-esteem, and high levels of
style is the view, attitude, and stability of parents or other depression [3]. The period of adolescence can be difficult
elders in the family. Some relevant studies have pointed for both parents and offspring. Therefore, understanding
out that parenting style plays a decisive role in the the approach of maintaining high quality parenting is
emotions of young children, because different emotions particularly essential [1]. Furthermore, studying this

Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL.

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 1889
 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 664

topic can improve emotional interventions for the most harmful in parenting [4, 7]. More advanced
adolescents. puberty in girls aged 9 to 15 is more tension-related [9].
Regarding boys, more advanced pubertal stages were
Differences in parenting styles can have an important
associated with more frequent stressful and depressed
impact on children. These influences from childhood and
mood, whereas pubertal status was not significantly
adolescence can affect them for life. Authoritative
associated with the frequency of mood in girls [10].
parents make demands and restrictions on their children,
These existing studies are more focused on parenting.
but also accept and support their child’s views. The
This review aims to evaluate some existing studies to
authoritarian parenting style of parents associate love
better understand the relationship of emotional
with success and set high standards. It tends to inhibit
development through following aspects: the effects of
children’s self-expression and independence [4]. In the
gender differences, effects of parental emotions,
study by Rossman and Rea, authoritative parenting leads
attachment style, and perception or thought patterns.
to better child adaptation and less externalizing problems
[5]. Chen and colleagues conducted a study in the Asian
context and found that social and school adjustment
2. DIFFERENT EFFECTS OF
positively and adjustment problems negatively are PARENTING STYLE ON EMOTIONS OF
related to authoritative style, whereas higher level of MALE AND FEMALE ADOLESCENTS
aggressive behaviors and lower social competency and
academic achievement are linked with authoritarian The frequencies of high-intensity emotion are
parenting [6]. Permissive parents give their children a affected by gender. Girls have a higher frequency than
high degree of freedom and few limits on their behaviors boys. Boys and girls may also interact differently with the
[5]. These parents are nurturing and accepting. They respective parenting styles of the father and mother. In
don’t force their children or control their behavior and the study by Alison et la., the role of parenting style
regard their children as friends with few expectations or influences students’ stress, anxiety, and depression [11].
restrictions [4, 7]. Many studies have found that parental Gender differences in children were evident, so boys and
authority leads to emotional problems in children and is girls may be affected differently by parenting style. They
also positively correlated with academic performance. It surveyed 290 undergraduate students (58% female)
can be found that the influence of parenting style on found maternal parenting styles are more closely related
children may be related to gender. Students’ problems to child outcomes than paternal styles are. Daughters
with low attention, confidence, persistence, and were more likely to be influenced by maternal parenting
involvement are due to mothers who are highly styles, and more findings support that boys’ outcomes are
controlling and fathers who are less supportive [8]. The more dependent on maternal parenting, too. It was found
effects of parenting style may remain with children that new students had to deal with the relationship
throughout their lives. It has an impact both on the area between academic and social, so this also causes them to
of a child's life and on academic achievement. In tend to suffer from depression. They used these variables
particular, more authoritative or permissive parenting is to predict individual and collective models to ensure data
more harmful. persistence. Permissive mothering was significantly
associated with stress and anxiety in daughters, but it was
Research trends in this area of adolescent irrelevant to adjustment measures for sons. Authoritative
development are parenting styles, which focus more on mothering was significantly negatively associated with
parental behavioral patterns for adolescents’ emotional anxiety and depression in daughters, whereas
development. More commonly, the correctness of the authoritative fathering was related to depression in sons.
parenting style in some parents determines the adolescent
development in different directions, and these studies Academic burnout refers to students’ negative
suggest that parenting plays a decisive role in the child’s attitudes towards schoolwork. It will make children lose
mood [2]. In children’s cognition, they tend to take their enthusiasm for their studies and school activities and
parents as a reference. Every move of the parents will become distant and indifferent to their friends. Zhu and
affect the emergence of different emotions during this colleagues found fathers and mothers have different
period, and different parenting methods are also effects on academic burnout and engagement for boys
accompanied by different emotional problems. and girls [12]. The purpose of this research is to study
Therefore, the way of parenting people is also very how parents predict the academic upbringing and
important for children’s growth. In a relatively tolerant academic performance of Chinese children, as well as the
parenting model, where parents also accept the child potential gender differences. In addition, the main
while acting without forcing or controlling the behaviors, division of labour in the family in terms of gender roles
it reflects a positive developmental trend. Instead, and gender socialization is different. Chinese society
relatively autocratic parents can cause more emotional leads to different interactions between mothers and
problems, and the manifestation of academic fathers with boys and girls at home. Therefore, the
performance is positively correlated. In relative important thing is to investigate the parent-child
comparison, over-tolerance and excessive authority are relationship. Data from fathers and mothers of the same

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child can be compared. It turns out that mothers were 3. THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT
more involved in parental involvement and authoritative STYLES AND GENDER DIFFERENCE
parenting. Adolescents perceived more maternal support.
Practice and learn to participate in predicting more According to the relationship between how parents
predictable parents. Parents’ time and energy activities were found, and the type of discipline used in the
support active parents’ support, especially for boys. The Baumrind’s study, children in authoritative families
quality (skills) of parental involvement may be better would be more psychosocial and less prone to
than the quantity (taking time to help). Compared with internalizing and externalizing problems [14]. Corporal
fathers, mothers reported parenting and parental punishment is associated with the development of aging
involvement, but children who received support from emotions [15]. Structural equation analysis using the
fathers (not mothers) predicted their academic model in the Milon’s study found that perceived nurture
performance. Besides, like girls, boys’ boredom and and discipline were associated with adult emotion
laziness are more sensitive to the parenting methods of regulation and, when simultaneously examined for
both parents. It is necessary to adjust the parenting perceived discipline, unrelated with emerging adult
method to express support according to the different emotion regulation [16]. the results show that, When both
needs and sensitivity of the children. Mothers are more were analyzed simultaneously, perceptual subject
involved and sensitive to their children's needs than strategy changes the relationship between perceptual
fathers. Nevertheless, fathers are very important in parenting and the emergence of adult emotional
adolescents’ academic engagement. adjustment, especially in men. In contrast, pathways from
Autonomy support is a parenting behavior to perceptual parental patterns to emerging adult emotion
encourage the children to be independent and increase regulation change significantly in females and appear to
their confidence in making decisions and actively solving be stronger than those from perceptual discipline
problems. For males, higher level of autonomy support strategies to emerging adult emotion regulation.
means less dysphoria and social anxiety, and vice versa. Disciplinary strategies between men and women were
Chrystyna et al. conducted a study to probe helicopter significantly associated with emotional adjustment, but
parenting and autonomy support on gender differences in the relationship is stronger than women. The results of
college students’ mental health and well-being [13]. And this study suggest that parenting and disciplinary
they explored the extent to which ethnic differences strategies are somewhat related to emotional adjustment
existed between parenting and college students’ for women, but parenting seems to have a stronger
outcomes. Autonomy support was related to lower relationship than disciplinary strategies. And boys seem
dysphoria. It showed that helicopter parenting was to have a stronger relationship with complaining about
associated with lower levels of well-being for females perceived disciplinary strategies than perceived parental
only, and autonomy support was associated with less methods.
dyspepsia and social anxiety for males only. Besides, The attachment theory developed by Balby’s
Hispanic students reported lower levels of autonomy identifies four attachment patterns: intimate
support compared to non-Hispanic White students. maintenance, safe haven, safe basis for care, and
Consistent with the research hypothesis, helicopter separation of pain. They recommend using the caregiver
parenting is only related to female’s lower levels of concept as a security basis, using harsh or insulting
happiness. In contrast, autonomous support is only language, namely the security base and the insecure base
related to less irritability and social anxiety in men. [17]. In a Pakistani context, using a multiple regression
Finally, no evidence of racial differences in these analysis and an independent sample t-test, research
relationships was found. In summary, the results of the shows that girls see their parents as a more authoritative
study indicate that although parental involvement is presence [18]. Girls showed higher intensity to maternal
usually associated with active child adaptation, parenting attachment variables than father and companion
has different predictions of well-being for males and attachment variables. In Webner suggested that girls had
females in adulthood. This research complements a higher parental attachment relative to boys, there are also
growing body of research that highlights the harmful many differences in the behavior patterns of girls and
effects of helicopter parenting on the outcome of adult boys in their daily life. Girls are more focused on
children. Boys tend to get more autonomy-support than relationship attitudes, indicating that they want to make
girls. Besides, Permissive parenting (low control and some connection with their parents and family, and boys
moderate support) will increase depressive symptoms. focusing more on self-dependence also means that they
Mothers’ authoritarian parenting (high control and low are relatively more independent [19]. Research showed
support) will bring more anxiety and depression to girls. that boys consider parents more authoritative than other
parenting methods, but when children become
adolescent, they spend more time with their peers [20].
Under the Pakistani culture, girls will get more protection
from their home environment, they spend most of their

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time with their families [21]. But boys can spend most of study and all subjects were required to complete the
their time living with friends to strengthen their social EMBU uninterrupted. Father and mother was assessed
behavior, and girls and boys have different views of their separately for each subscale. The authors used a one-way
parents, boys' attachment to their parents and peers is ANOVA based on the gender differences of the subjects
different, and authoritative parents have positive effects [1]. The results show that Japanese parents generally
on adolescent attachment relationships. want older brothers and sisters to be role models for
younger siblings, so they are more exclusive and harsher
Rejection sensitivity is a person's propensity to
in raising their older brothers. Sisters get more emotional
perceive, anticipate and overreact to refusal. In the study,
warmth from their parents than their brothers.
the effects of rejection sensitivity and attachment styles
on student gender and different upbringing styles were However, even without the effect of birth order, the
explored [22]. The study sample set was randomly male and female adolescents have different feelings at the
selected from the Faculty of Education, Mugra same family. Cheng and Wu examined family
University (Turkey). The participants were 500 students socioeconomic status and children gender differences in
(260 females; 240 males). Conclusions were drawn by a Taiwanese adolescents. They chose two samples, and
questionnaire form. Students with fear attachment types they are 598 Taiwanese students and 1153 Taiwanese
had significantly higher rejection sensitivity than other students. The authors propose two hypotheses which
students. This group will shed their negative views of hypothesis 1 is Taiwanese parents would have more
themselves and of others in ways to avoid intimacy. This excessive protection and rejection for boys and emotional
means that this type of children cannot easily establish warmth for girls and hypothesis 2 is adolescents with
and maintain a relationship and being rejected is very high family socioeconomic status would feel more
sensitive to them. Moreover, boys had significantly lower emotional warmth and rejection than lower adolescents.
levels of rejection sensitivity than in girls. It can also be The authors used sample 1 to correct the s-EMBU scale
said that girls with higher anxiety and rejection and verified sample 2 for the corrected model to explore
expectations than boys are a tendency to quickly perceive individual views of parental parenting behavior. The
rejection, belonging to an extreme reaction. Rejection results showed that the composite confidence of the
sensitivity includes insensitive, extremely insensitive, subscales with revised rejection, emotional warmth, and
and insecure attachment, and tends to develop rejection overprotection were 0.84, 0.85 and 0.70. A strong
sensitivity that can cause some damage to relationships. correlation between exclusion and overprotection may
People without interpersonal skills are sensitive to impair discriminative validity. The three scales showed
rejection, and psychological theory regards a sense of the values of the acceptable reliability of 0.85, 0.86, and
belonging as a basic need, and perceived rejection is a 0.70 respectively in Sample 2. This study found that girls
highly disgusted experience where acceptance, felt higher parental emotional warmth than boys did, but
recognition, support, and attribution inspire each that parental rejection and overprotection were relatively
relationship. Thus, rejection of sensitivity and insecure low [2]. These results suggesting that a more
attachment may produce poor interpersonal problems authoritarian manner that parental parenting may
[23]. manifest in boys.
The thinking patterns are diverse and the different
4. THE EFFECTS OF PERCEPTION OR thinking patterns can also affect the parenting style for
THINKING PATTERN AND GENDER children of different genders. Moreover, different
DIFFERENCE parenting styles have different effects on the thinking
patterns of male and female adolescents. Zhongyong
Adler was the first psychologist to emphasize the role thinking is the most mainstream Confucian thought and
of birth order in personality formation. Individuals have the most popular thought in China. The idea of the mean
different birth orders and have different status in the appeal people to make rational decisions after thinking
family, thus forming different styles. Parents also have about problems with diversified thinking perspectives.
different parenting styles and attitudes towards children Hou et al. explored whether sex differences modulate the
with different birth order, so that they have different effect of parental modalities with Zhongyong thinking
psychological development. In the survey of Someya et style of education on adolescent mood (depression and
al. on the emotional effects of parenting methods on anxiety Symptoms) [24]. The authors assumed that
gender differences and birth order, they examine the gender (possible variables) had a direct or indirect route
adolescent population with two siblings applied the Egna to regulating parenting to emotional distress, using the
Minnen av Barndoms Uppforstran (EMBU) in Japan. For questionnaire method to volunteer college students from
male subjects, the mother gives overprotection and four universities, with 3,943 valid questionnaires and no
emotional warmth, but in female subjects, it was the statistical difference. The authors analyzed the statistical
father who gives excessive protection and emotional results which gender was recorded as female and male. It
warmth. The research selected some high school and was found that male adolescents scored higher than
university healthy volunteers to participate in the EMBU female adolescents in parental rejection and over-

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protection while women scored higher than men on methods. For female adolescents, they are more attached
parental emotional warmth and its overall harmony to their families, and the boys are more attached to their
dimensions. What’s more, the study found that the friends. In addition, female adolescents have higher
emotional warmth of parents is greatly related to the idea anxiety and rejection expectations than male adolescents.
of Zhongyong thought and men are stronger than women Furthermore, in the effects of perception or thought
[24]. This study showed that college students with the patterns versus gender differences, Japanese parents raise
same enthusiasm for their parents develop more older brothers more strictly than their sisters, and female
moderation thinking than women. Parents guide their adolescents will get more emotional warmth than male
child during adolescence that men are guided to be teenagers. Female adolescents receive more parental
independent and autonomous, and women are guided to emotional warmth than male, while their parents have
obey. Thus, men may think more about moderation than lower levels of rejection and overprotection than males’.
women when sensing the same degree of parental In the parenting of Zhongyong thought, parents provide
warmth. independent guides to boys and obedient guides to girls,
so boys are more rational than girls in the face of the same
5. LIMITATION AND FUTURE emotional warmth. Last, existing studies have the
DIRECTION limitations of studying individual factors related with
emotional development and future studies can
First, existing studies have examined many questions systematically explore the interaction of various factors
about parenting styles and emotional development of in these relationships.
adolescents, but these studies have focused more on
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