ABSTRACT
Background: Parenting is the process of raising and teaching a child from birth to adulthood. There are four types of parenting styles, of which the most common is authoritative parenting. Parenting styles and the quality of a parent-child relationship are considered to have an impact on the psychosocial development of the child. Objectives: The objectives of the study were (1) to assess the parenting styles of parents with 1–5-year-old children attending Government Taluk Hospital, Anekal, Karnataka. (2) To assess the association between sociodemographic factors and parenting styles of parents. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 200 mothers of 1–5-year-old children accessing health care at Government Taluk Hospital, Anekal. Modified parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire was administered to mothers. Results: Mean age of the 200 mothers was 26.2 ± 2.4 years and fathers reportedly were 32.1 ± 3.1 years. Most fathers had high school education and were laborers. Majority of mothers had primary education and were homemakers. There was a significant difference in the mean parenting score of fathers (86.2 ± 14.1) and that of mothers (92.1 ± 11.9), where higher scores indicate better parenting styles. Authoritative parenting style was significantly associated with occupation and education of the fathers. Uninvolved parenting was significantly associated with education of the fathers; occupation and younger age (<26 years) of the mothers. Conclusion: A limitation of this study was that the mothers responded for themselves as well as on behalf of their husbands. Mothers felt that their husband’s parenting style was inadequate. The study identified a need for education of the parents regarding parenting styles.