Gender Differences in the Associations between Perceived Parenting Styles and Juvenile Delinquency in Pakistan

Article title: Gender Differences in the Associations between Perceived Parenting Styles and Juvenile Delinquency in Pakistan

Author(s): Rubina Kauser, and Martin Pinquart

Institute(s): Child and Adolescent’s Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Germany.

Journal: Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 2016, Vol. 31, No. 2, 549-568

Correspondence Address: Rubina Kauser, Child and Adolescent’s Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Philipps University Marburg, Germany. E-mail: kauser@students.uni-marburg.de

Abstract

The present study identified gender differences in adolescents’ reports on their mothers’, fathers’ parenting styles, and in the associations between perceived parenting styles and juvenile delinquency. For this purpose, five schools were randomly selected from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In total, 1140 students (11-17 years, 51% girls and 49% boys) with mean age of 13.4 years (SD = 1.4)filled in an amended version of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (Buri, 1991) and the Self-reported Delinquency Scale (Naqvi & Kamal, 2008). Results showed that reports on parenting styles varied by parental and adolescent gender. Authoritative parenting style was associated with lower levels of juvenile delinquency, whereas neglectful parenting was associated higher levels of delinquency. Moreover, perceived maternal parenting styles showed stronger relationships with juvenile delinquency than paternal parenting styles. Findings suggested that Baumrind’s parenting typology is applicable in developing countries like Pakistan. Therefore, it is concluded that there are more similarities than differences in results between Western countries and Pakistan.

Keywords. Parenting Styles, Juvenile Delinquency, Gender, Culture, Developing Countries

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