Relationship among parenting style and depression and anxiety in children aged 3 - 13 years old

Despite its low visibility, internalizing problems are increasingly present in children, and they are often associated to inadequate parenting patterns. This paper analyses a possible existing relationship between depression and anxiety in children, reported by parents through the BASC (Behaviour Assessment System for Children), and the parenting style according to the PCRI (Parent-Child Relationship Inventory), along with different family variables. In this study 554 children (288 male and 266 female) aged 3-13 years old participated. The results show that children with higher depression scores were more likely to have parents with a low level of support, satisfaction with parenting, involvement, communication, autonomy and limit setting of both parents, along with a low role orientation by their mothers. Children with high anxiety scores were more likely to have parents who have low level of support, limit setting and autonomy, along with a low level of satisfaction with parenting and role orientation in the mother. Furthermore, the regression analysis sheds models capable of predicting 31% of the variance of depression and 16% of the variance for the anxiety model. Finally, we discuss the utility of the results for the design of guide programmes based upon concrete aspects of the daily educational practice.