PARENTING STYLES AND ADOLESCENT EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period of significant emotional, social and behavioral change taking place in a growing digital social landscape. While parenting styles can influence adolescents' emotional health and social media use, the complicated interactions between parenting styles, social media addiction, and emotional well-being have not been well explored, especially in the context of Pakistan. The present study aimed to explore the correlation between parental styles, social media addiction, and emotional well-being in adolescents and the additive effect of social media addiction in the association between parental styles and emotional well-being. A quantitative cross sectional correlational design was used and 300 adolescents were selected from educational institutions by convenience sampling in Faisalabad, Pakistan. The Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), Social Media Addiction Scale (SMAS) and Emotional Well-Being Scale (EAS) were used to gather data. The study variables were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlations, and mediation analysis. The results showed significant relationships between parenting styles, SMD, and emotional well-being.

Authoritative parenting was positively related to emotional well-being, while authoritarian parenting was negatively related to emotional well-being. A few parenting dimensions and emotional well-being were also strongly connected to social media addiction. Mediation analysis revealed that parenting styles had significant indirect effects on emotional well-being via social media addiction, even though the direct effects were not significant. The results point to the need to take into account family relationships and adolescents' digital experiences in tandem to grasp their emotional well-being. The study adds to existing literature on adolescent psychological adjustment in the context of sociocultural environment of Pakistan.