Abstract
This study investigates the relationship between parenting styles and three specific types of anxiety among children, with an attempt to monitor the distinctive role that each parental dimension plays with regard to elevated anxiety. Study participants included 101 children, ages 11 to 13 years, from various elementary schools. The study found that lack of autonomy granting by either parent is uniquely related (controlled for parent’s acceptance) to high anxiety levels and specific anxiety types in children, especially separation anxiety and school anxiety. With respect to parental acceptance, a unique negative correlation with children’s overall anxiety was found only for the father, while the mother’s low acceptance was negatively correlated with social anxiety for highly anxious children. Ultimately, it was found that children who perceived their parents as authoritarian (highly controlling and strict disciplinarians) were significantly more anxious than the children who perceived their parents as authoritative (encouraging independence while maintaining limits and behavioral control).
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