Date of Defense

4-23-2025

Date of Graduation

4-2025

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Cynthia Pietras

Second Advisor

Morgan Palmer

Abstract

Although considerable research has investigated how parenting styles impact child development, little is known about how parenting styles correlate with young adults’ adjustment to college. Parenting styles children are raised with may impact the development of skills such as resilience, problem-solving, and emotional regulation that influence how they react to difficult life transitions. Parenting styles may also impact a person’s decision making, including in situations involving self-control. Thus, the goal of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting style, college adjustment, and self-control. This study used the Parenting Style and Dimension Questionnaire- Short Version, the Student Adaption to College Questionnaire to examine the current academic, social, personal-emotional, and attachment adjustment levels of participants, and a delay discounting monetary choice task to measure decision making and impulsivity levels. Participants included 23 first- and second-year undergraduate college students, who anonymously and voluntarily took the online survey. Questionnaires were administered cross-sectionally to determine if correlations exist between parenting styles, adjustment scores, and impulsivity levels in this sample of college students. The authoritative parenting style was positively correlated with college adjustment scores, but no other relations were statistically significant. The findings indicate that information about a students’ upbringing may help identify students who would benefit from enhanced support services in college.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Open Access

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