AN EVALUATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PERCEIVED PARENTING STYLES AND SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL ADOLESCENTS IN MURANG’A EAST SUB-COUNTY.

Abstract

This study evaluated the relationship between perceived parenting styles and symptoms of depression among secondary school adolescents in Murang’a East sub-County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional correlational design where a sample of 369 students aged 14–18 was selected from rural, peri-urban, and urban mixed-gender secondary schools using stratified random sampling. Parenting styles were assessed using the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ), while depression symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Descriptive and inferential statistics data analysis were used. Authoritative parenting was the most dominant parenting style (M= 33.63), followed by authoritarian (M= 33.22) and permissive (M= 25.21). Majority of participants under authoritative parents, reported minimal depression symptoms (38.3%), and least severe symptoms of depression (14.9%), a higher proportion of participants from authoritarian parenting reported moderate symptoms (31%), while those from permissive parenting households reported the highest levels of severe depression symptoms (27.5%). Chi-square test revealed no statistically significant relationship between parenting styles and depression symptoms χ² (6, N = 357) = 8.794, p = .188. Results suggest that while parenting styles collectively were not associated with symptoms of depression, descriptive analysis demonstrated that authoritative parenting style had a buffering effect against symptoms of depression among adolescents. This study highlights the influence of parenting approaches in adolescent mental health, and emphasizes the need to strengthen authoritative parenting practices, along with school-based psychosocial support systems to mitigate depression symptoms among adolescents. To ensure holistic mental health care, other key factors such as, learning environment and peer dynamics need be considered as key areas in mental health intervention strategies. The study fills a gap in adolescent mental health research by generating evidence that can inform context specific mental health interventions and support policy formulation focused on promoting adolescent mental health.