Parenting Styles and Psychological Distress in Young Adults: Filial Piety as a Mediating Factor

Abstract

This study investigated the link between psychological distress in Pakistani young adults, filial piety, and parenting styles. Baumrind’s parenting styles typology and Yeh and Bedford’s dual filial piety model were used as the core framework for this study. This study aimed to understand how these parenting styles- Authoritarian, Authoritative, and Permissive- affect psychological distress in young adults, how the collectivistic cultural phenomenon of filial piety (Reciprocal Filial Piety and Authoritarian Filial Piety) connects to psychological distress, and how the two variables influence psychological distress simultaneously. A sample of n=400 was collected using convenience sampling. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire- Short Form (PSDQ-SF), Dual Filial Piety Scale (DFPS), and the Depression Anxiety Scale-10 (DASS-10) were completed by the participants for a correlational and cross-sectional study. SPSS 25 was used to analyse the data. Pearson product-moment correlation analysis was used, in which authoritative parenting (r= -.25, p < .001) and reciprocal filial piety (r= -.25, p < .001) were negatively correlated with psychological distress, and authoritarian parenting (r= .36, p < .001) and permissive parenting (r=.20, p < .001) were positively correlated. Authoritarian filial piety did not significantly associate with distress (r= .07, p= .169). Multiple Regression analysis showed that the model was significant, [F(5,394)=19.83, p < .001, explaining 20.1% variance in psychological distress (R2 = .20)]. Authoritarian Filial Piety (β = .21, p < .001) and authoritarian parenting (β = .20, p < .001) proved to be the strongest positive predictors, whereas authoritative parenting (β = −.18, p = .002) and reciprocal filial piety (β = −.19, p = .002 were significant negative predictors, permissive parenting showed a weak positive affect (β = .13, p = .013). Mediation Analysis further shows that RFP partially mediated the relationship between authoritative parenting and psychological distress, with a significant indirect effect (Effect = −0.07, 95% CI [−0.12, −0.02]). Results highlight the protective role of emotionally supportive and mutually respectful family relationships within the Pakistani cultural context.