Impact of Parenting on Social, Emotional, and Educational Adjustment of Adolescents in Government and Private Schools

The present study aims to investigate the impact of parenting on adolescents’ social, emotional, and educational adjustment. 200 adolescents were selected as participants from government and private schools in Bhojpur District of Bihar. Stratified random sampling was used.  Parenting scale developed by Bharadwaj, Sharma & Garg (1998) and the Adjustment inventory – developed by Sinha & Singh (1971) were used to collect data. Simple linear regression was used to determine the predictive strength of parenting for adjustment among adolescents of government and private schools, and the association between parenting and adjustment. A t-test was conducted to find the mean difference among different groups, such as school type and parenting style. Results indicated a significant and positive correlation between parenting and social, emotional, and educational adjustment among adolescents. Parenting significantly predicts the social, emotional, educational, and overall adjustment among government school adolescents. In contrast, among private school adolescents, a non-significant relationship was found between parenting and adjustment (social, emotional, and educational). Further, the t- test reveals a non-significant (p > .05) mean difference between government and private school adolescents in social, emotional, educational, and overall adjustment. Next, a significant (P < .01) mean difference was found between positive and negative parenting styles in relation to social, emotional, educational, and overall adjustment. It was observed that adolescents who were brought up with positive parenting practices scored significantly higher on adjustment and all its dimensions than those who were exposed to negative parenting practices. It means that positive parenting practices contribute to better adjustment among adolescents.