Research Article
Measurement of Parenting Styles and their Relationship to Well-Being in Saudi Arabia
Ahmed M. Alkhalaf*
Family and Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, AlBaha University, Saudi Arabia
- *Corresponding Author:
- Ahmed M. Alkhalaf
Family and Community Medicine Department
Faculty of Medicine, AlBaha University, Saudi Arabia
E-mail: ahmadalkhalaf@hotmail.co.uk
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this research was to validate the a new tool for assessing parenting behavior in Arab populations (specifically in Saudi Arabia), examine the assessment’s relationships with existing measures of well-being, and test the hypothesis that abuse predicts only negative affect and encouragement only positive affect.
Methods: The seven-item Arabic Parenting Style Questionnaire (APSQ) assesses Abuse and Encouragement in Saudi Arabian parent-child relationships. The APSQ and other assessments were administered to Saudi Arabian adult participants (Study 1, N = 249; Study 2, N = 293), and their responses were analyzed using correlational and regression analyses.
Results: The Abuse and Encouragement subscales of the APSQ showed good factorial discrimination and acceptable internal consistency (α = 0.75 to 0.86), and were weakly correlated (r = -0.20). Encouragement was positively correlated (r = 0.43) with the Authoritative subscale of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). Subscales of the PAQ and APSQ predicted independent variance of Global Quality of Life (GQOL). Abuse and Encouragement both independently predicted GQOL and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), but only Abuse independently predicted negative affect, and only Encouragement predicted positive affect.
Conclusions: Individuals who reported having experienced any abusive parenting, not just extreme abuse, reported decreased well-being long into adulthood, indicating that even parenting practices that may not be seen as abuse can have long-term, negative consequences.
