Summary:
Emotional intelligence is a model of a person's ability to acknowledge and use
their emotions effectively. Psychology offers a growing body of literature
shedding light on the effects of parenting practices on children's emotional
intelligence. In the present study, we sought to investigate the association
between parenting styles, as categorized by Baumrind, and the emotional
intelligence of greek adolescents. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 187
fifteen-year-old greek pupils of 7 randomly selected schools in Attica.
Parenting styles, as well as childrens' emotional intelligence, were derived
with the use of standardized questionnaires. There was a statistically
significant association between the authoritative maternal type and the
development of markers of high emotional intelligence in both boys and girls.
In accordance with prior research, we found gender to be an important
determinant of emotional intelligence in mid-adolesence, with girls generally
scoring higher than boys. Different parenting styles of mothers and fathers
were shown to have a different impact on emotional intelligence, depending on
whether the child was a boy or girl. Our findings underline the importance of
parenting practices on the emotional development of children, as well as the
complex degree of interaction between gender, emotion and behavior within Greek
families.
Keywords:
emotional intelligence, parenting styles, upbringing, family dynamics , emotional development
