Maternal and Paternal Parenting Styles and Children’s Socio-Emotional Skills: An East–West Comparison

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 7:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Social Emotional Development in Early Childhood and through Parenting

Abstract

This study examined the effects of maternal and paternal parenting styles, as well as their combinations, on children’s socio-emotional development across cultural contexts. Using data from the 2019 Survey on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES), four parenting styles(neglectful, authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive)are compared across North America (Houston, n=782; Ottawa, n=759) and East Asia (Daegu, n=1,971; Suzhou, n=6,690). Results show that authoritarian fathering has a significant negative effect, while maternal styles show no such impact. Cultural differences were observed: maternal influence was stronger in North America, whereas paternal influence dominated in East Asia. Joint effects were limited in North America but more complex and diverse in East Asia. The findings offer guidance for culturally informed parenting interventions.

Authors

• Qian Nie, East China Normal University

• Shiqing Liu, East China Normal University