The relationship between parenting style and adjustment in international students : a study of international mother-daughter pairs : how mothers' parenting styles affect adjustment to Malta in their daughters

Abstract

This qualitative study attempts to find a relationship between a mother's parenting style as classified by Baumrind (1967, 1971) and their daughter's subsequent adjustment to Malta. The sample consisted of five foreign mother-daughter pairs who have lived in Malta from between one to twelve years. The daughters were aged thirteen to sixteen and attended an international school. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in order to classify the mothers' parenting styles. Both mother and daughter were asked about perceived parenting style. Daughters were additionally questioned about their adjustment to Malta. Grounded theory was used in analyzing the data. It was found that parents did not adopt a single style as was proposed by Baumrind (1967, 1971). Rather they tended to use one style more often than others, but had tendencies to use techniques from other styles. The daughter's perception of parenting style did not always correspond to the style the mother obtained. This perception - as opposed to the mother's actual style - seemed to have a more significant effect on their ability to adjust.