Abstract

The association between parenting and child’s psychological states has been studied mainly according to
Baumrind’s model of authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles or according to Rohner’s
acceptance-rejection theory. This study, in contrast, rests on the assumption that since parenting is a complex and
dynamic process, it is better studied in terms of parenting profiles comprising several factors than via one or two
parenting factors. We administered a questionnaire measuring seven parenting factors that cover various styles of
acceptance and control to 975 male and female adolescents together with a scale of psychological states. Our
results show that the associations between a parenting factor and psychological states depend on the presence or
absence of other parenting factors, thereby justifying the use of parenting profiles rather than parenting factors.
The psychological states were associated with the style of control and the parenting profile rather than with the
level of control. Two paternal and three maternal parenting profiles were detected, each associated with different
levels of psychological states. The profile characterized by high acceptance, rational parenting, and
loving-control parenting, and by low compassion evoking, love withdrawal, inconsistent parenting, and
authoritarian parenting was associated with better psychological states. The data were analyzed according to
parents’ and adolescents’ sex and internalized and externalized psychological states. To learn more about parental
profiles and psychological states, further research in different cultures is needed.

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