Perceived Parenting Styles and Multidimensional Resilience in Adolescence: A Correlational Study

Abstract

Background: Parenting practices are widely recognised as central influences on adolescent development, yet their relationship with multidimensional resilience remains underexplored, particularly within the Indian socio-cultural context, where family structures and cultural norms may uniquely shape these dynamics. Objective: This study aimed to examine levels of perceived maternal and paternal parenting styles and multidimensional resilience among adolescents, and to investigate associations between these variables across emotional, psychological, social, academic, and physical domains. Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design was employed with 384 adolescents (aged 13–18 years; 46.9% male, 53.1% female) from CBSE-affiliated English-medium schools in the Kamrup Metro district of Assam, recruited through multi-stage sampling. The Parenting Scale (Bharadwaj, Sharma & Garg) and the Adolescent Resilience Scale (Raj & Vijayalaxmi) were administered. Pearson's product-moment correlation was used for analysis. Results: Adolescents demonstrated moderate to high overall resilience (M = 189.82, SD = 24.00). Both perceived maternal (r = .528, p < .01) and paternal (r = .544, p < .01) parenting styles were significantly and positively correlated with overall resilience. The combined parenting score was similarly associated with multidimensional resilience (r = .528, p < .01). Conclusion: The findings highlighted the critical role of parenting in fostering resilience among adolescents. Both maternal and paternal parenting contribute significantly, with paternal parenting showing a marginally stronger association. These results support the adoption of family-centered, culturally grounded interventions in adolescent mental health promotion, with particular relevance to the Indian and Northeast Indian context.