Exploring the Relationship Between Socio-economic Status and Parenting Styles: Educational Reflections from a Parental Perspective

Background/purpose. This study aimed to identify the prevailing parenting styles in the Bekaa region in Lebanon from the parents’ perspective and to examine the relationship between these styles and parents’ educational level, income level, age, and gender. Materials/methods. A purposeful sample of 637 parents, representing the target population, was selected. Questionnaires were distributed to the parents via students in grades six and seven and were returned within 5–7 days. A quantitative research approach using a descriptive analytical design was adopted in order to examine the relationship between socio-economic status and parenting styles. Parenting styles were assessed using the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) and its updated version, the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ). Results. The results indicated that the authoritative parenting style was the most prevalent among parents in the Bekaa region. Spearman correlation analysis revealed no significant correlation between parenting styles and parents' income level or gender. However, a negative correlation was found between fathers' educational level and the authoritative parenting style, mothers' educational level and the neglectful parenting style, mothers' age and both the permissive and authoritarian parenting styles, as well as between fathers' age and the permissive parenting style. Additionally, the findings showed that mothers tended to be more authoritarian than fathers. Conclusion. This study explored the relationship between parenting styles and various parental demographic factors, including income, educational level, gender, and age. The findings highlight that parenting style is not uniform across demographic groups, with certain variables playing a more significant role than others.