Self-esteem and affective balance of a teenager in connection with parental attitudes and psychological well-being of his/her parents

The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of parenting styles on the teenager's selfesteem and affective balance. It explored the quality of parental attitudes that leads to a healthy sense of self. Researchers suggest that high level of self-esteem and positive moods such as joy and interest indicate individuals in flourishing mental health. For children the parent's child-rearing behaviour contributes profoundly to their development. The question, then, is how teenagers' self-esteem and affective balance correlate with mothers' and fathers' parental attitudes and psychological well-being. The study involved 35 families from Saint-Petersburg (every family consisted of mother, father and their 11-14 years old child). Methods used for teenagers were: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Bradburn's 'Affect Balance Scale'. Mothers' and fathers' attitudes about child-rearing, parent-child relationships, and roles of family members were measured by PARI (Parent Attitude Research Instrument). Parents' psychological well-being was measured by Ryff's Scales. The results showed that teenagers' self-esteem has positive correlation with affective balance. These scales are significantly associated with the mothers' parental attitudes 'Encouraging Verbalization' and 'Breaking the Will' and with the fathers' parental attitudes 'Fostering Independence' and 'Permitting Child's Self Assertion'. In addition, they positively connected with the components of the mothers' psychological well-being: 'Autonomy', 'Environmental mastery', and 'Self-acceptance'. The more in a state of psychological well-being the father the more he takes on responsibility with regard to education of the teenager. Thus, the role of mother and father in the education of teenagers are different. The mother listens to his/her concerns and somehow limits behaviour, and the father promotes independence and self-assertion of the teenager, giving him/her more freedom and stimulating 'sense of maturity'. Such kind of parent-child relationships contributes to the shaping of the adolescent's healthy development.