HOW PARENTING STYLES IMPACT EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ADOLESCENT FOSTER CHILDREN

Abstract

Parenting styles and adolescent development are two concepts that have been widely researched. In this study, the goal was to add an additional layer to these already established topics and look at how the foster care system interacts with it. The two main aims were to answer the questions: How do parenting styles of foster parents influence academic success amongst foster care youth? and How do parenting styles of foster parents influence emotional development amongst foster care youth? Through working with a foster care licensing agency, it was possible to distribute a 67 question survey to foster parents asking questions about their parenting style and questions regarding academic success and emotional development in their longest fostered child 10-18 years of age. Eight foster parents fully completed the survey. From the results, it was found that all of the foster parents had an Authoritative parenting style. The results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between the degree of Authoritative parenting style and academic success, as measured with grades. The results also showed that there was not a statistically significant relationship between the degree of Authoritative parenting style and emotional development, as measured by emotional openness.