Patterns of indulgent parenting and adolescents' psychological development

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Ming Cui,Chengfei Jiao,Carol A. Darling
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12853

RESEARCH

Patterns of indulgent parenting and adolescents’

psychological development

Ming Cui|Chengfei Jiao|Carol A. Darling

Department of Human Development and

Family Science, Florida State University,

Tallahassee, FL

Correspondence

Ming Cui, Department of Human

Development and Family Science, 216 Sandels

Building, Florida State University,

Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA.

Email: mcui@fsu.edu

Funding information

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of

Child Health and Human Development,

Grant/Award Number: R03HD088787

Abstract

Objective: In this study, researchers aimed to extend the cur-

rent literature by examining the patterns of indulgent parenting

of both mothers and fathers and their associations with adoles-

cents’basic psychological needs satisfaction, self-control, and

self-efficacy.

Background: Indulgent parenting could be harmful for the

development of psychological needs satisfaction and cog-

nitive abilities when adolescents seek autonomy and gain

emotional regulatory skills. Yet research is limited on

investigating the patterns of indulgent parenting and their

relationships to adolescents’psychological development.

Method: The sample consisted of 268 adolescents in Grades

9 to 11 from several high schools in a southeastern region of

the United States. Participants took an online survey about

their perceptions of parental indulgent parenting, their psy-

chological development, and demographic information.

Results: Results from multivariate mixture modeling

suggested four distinct classes of perceived maternal and

paternal indulgence. Further, these classes demonstrated

differential associations with adolescents’basic psychologi-

cal needs satisfaction, self-control, and self-efficacy.

Conclusion: The findings revealed different patterns of per-

ceived indulgent parenting practices. Further, these findings

also highlighted the negative role of perceived behavioral

indulgence on adolescents’psychological development.

Implications: Implications for interventions targeted at

parenting and adolescent development were noted.

KEYWORDS

adolescents, basic psychological needs satisfaction, indulgent parenting,

self-control, self-efficacy

Author note: This research was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development (no. R03HD088787). Opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed within this workdo not necessarily

reflect the views of the funding organization/agency.

Received: 12 November 2021Revised: 28 July 2022Accepted: 30 December 2022

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12853

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2695–2709. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2695