Perceptions of Parenting Style Among College Students in India and the United States

Although a growing body of psychological literature has examined the influence of culture on parenting style, relatively less attention has been paid to gender differences in parenting style across cultures. The present study examined perceptions of parenting style as a function of participant’s culture, participant’s gender, and parent gender in college students in India and the United States. Using a new vignette-based self-report measure that characterizes each of Baumrind’s three parenting styles, participants rated perceptions of effectiveness, helpfulness, caring, and normativeness of each style. Contrary to expectation, results showed that Indian college students considered the parent demonstrating permissive parenting to be more effective and helpful than US college students. In contrast, US college students considered the parents demonstrating authoritative and authoritarian parenting to be more effective, helpful, and caring than Indian college students. A majority of Indian and US college students selected the parent demonstrating authoritative parenting as most similar to their own parents, and the type of parent they wish to be in the future. Females considered the parent demonstrating authoritative parenting to be more effective and helpful than males. Relatively few effects of parent gender were found.