Emerging adulthood: examining the relationship between parenting styles and decision-making of university resident students

Abstract

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a developmental period from the late teens to the twenties characterized with exploration, identity searching, and independent decision-making. Studies conducted in the United States of America looked at the conception of emerging adulthood as a period of transition. The majority of studies done in South Africa and other countries explored the relationship and influence of parenting styles on adolescence as well as other areas of development concerning adolescence, but not in emerging adulthood. This study aimed to determine the influence of parenting styles on decision-making of emerging adults staying at a university residence. A quantitative methodological approach was used, with a correlational cross-sectional design. The study sample consisted of 350 randomly selected participants, aged between 18 to 25 years and staying at the university residence. Students completed two questionnaires, namely the Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) and the Decision-making Questionnaire (DMQ). Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. A pilot study was conducted to check for the reliability of the instrument. Findings of the study show that the authoritative parenting style is significantly positively correlated to thoughtful decision-making of emerging adulthood. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between mothers' and fathers' parenting styles, with mothers being more positively correlated with all types of parenting styles compared to fathers. This suggests that parenting styles may play a distinctive role in the lives of emerging adults. The findings are discussed in the context of the developmental stage of emerging adulthood.