The Relationship between Perceived Parenting Styles and Fear of Being Single: The Mediating Role of Dependency and Undeveloped Self Schemas

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between perceived parenting styles and the anxiety of being single, with dependency schemas and u​ndeveloped self serving as mediators. The employed research method was applied and descriptive correlation. The statistical population comprised all Tehran University students enrolled for the 2020-2021 academic year; it totaled 50,000 individuals (2970 women and 2030 men). From this population, 334 were selected using the accessible sampling method: 242 women and 92 men. Perception of Parents Questionnaire (POPS), Fear of Singleness Scale (FOBSS) and Young Schema Short Form (YSQ-SF) were utilized in the research.The data were analyzed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics methods. In order to assess the proposed model, skewness and kurtosis and path analysis methods were used to ascertain the data's normality. Utilizing SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 23, the data were analyzed. A significant relationship was observed between the perception of parents’ parenting styles and both undeveloped self and dependency schemas, as well as between the aforementioned schemas and fear of being single, according to the findings. Both the direct and indirect perceptions of the mother’s parenting style and the father's parenting style through dependency schemas and an undeveloped self were negatively associated with dread of being single. The proposed model of the relationship between perceived parenting styles and dread of being single, mediated by dependency schemas and undeveloped self, is consistent with the findings of the study. These results have the potential to greatly influence children’s critical decision-making processes by discouraging the adoption of inappropriate parental techniques.

Keywords

• dependence
• fear of being single
• parenting
• schema
• undeveloped self