The Impact Of Perceived Parenting Styles On Problem-Focused Coping Among Young Adults: The Mediating Role Of Self-Differentiation

Abstract

This study investigated how Chinese college students in Hong Kong perceive their parents' styles and how these perceptions influence their self-differentiation and problem-solving coping mechanisms. Perceived authoritarian parenting impeded self-differentiation, while authoritative parenting fostered it. Students with higher self-differentiation tended to employ reflective coping and exhibited less likelihood of distancing from problems. The level of education is linked to the degree of differentiation, implying that academic experiences contribute to forming personal identity. Authoritative parenting enhanced reflective coping directly. Moreover, contrary to the initial hypothesis, self-differentiation did not mediate the connection between perceived parenting and reflective coping styles.