Influence of Parenting Styles on the Social Development of Children

The purpose of the study was to ascertain the dominant parenting styles of parents in the study area and their influence on children’s social development. The study utilised a sample of 480 basic school pupils who were in their adolescent stage and 16 teachers. The survey study employed a structured interview schedule and a questionnaire for the data collection. The study instruments were pre-tested to establish their validity and reliability. The results of the study revealed that the majority of the parents were perceived to adopt authoritative parenting styles in the upbringing of their children. It was also revealed that parenting style has influence on students’ social development. It is inferred that authoritative parenting based on reasoning, understanding, consensus and trust resulted in pro-social behaviour while authoritarian parenting based on strict rules, force, threat, verbal and physical punishments resulted in anti-social behaviour. It is, therefore, recommended that parents should endeavour to adopt authoritative parenting style to enable their children and wards to develop pro-social behaviour. The significance of the study is that the results would help parents, guardians, teachers and school authorities to understand and appreciate the relationship between parenting style and children’s social development. Parents, in particular, would be fascinated by the findings of the study to employ authoritative parenting style to aid their children to be socially competent, a virtue required for personal life and work ethos.