5 Cs of Family Functioning and their Relationship with Parenting Styles

Abstract

Abstract It is intended to study the quality of the Family Functioning Scale (Portuguese version) and to understand/characterize the relationship between Family Functioning and Parenting Styles. The samples include 1757 Portuguese parents, 77.3% being female (N=1359), aged between 20 and 80 years old (M=41.61; SD=5.71). The results confirm a relationship between the dimensions of family functioning and parenting styles, especially with the emotional support dimension. Parents between 36 and 45 years old have a more positive family functioning and a parenting style associated with higher levels of emotional support, lower levels of rejection, and moderate levels of control/supervision. It is concluded that it is a valid, sensitive, and robust instrument, and the results are a contribution to psychosocial research and intervention.

Keywords

• family functioning
• parenting styles
• healthy development
• emotional support
• family cohesion