Relationships Between Parenting Styles And Adolescents' School Adjustment In Urban And Rural China: A Comparative Study

The present research explored the relationships between parenting styles and adolescents, academic achievement, behavior adjustment, peer relationship and emotional adjustment, with a sample of 958 adolescents selected from a urban junior middle school in Jinan city and a rural junior middle school in Dezhou city , Shandong Province. The results were as follows:1 Compared with fathers in rural areas, those in urban areas showed more severe punishment, excessive interference and negative rejection. Mothers in urban areas showed more excessive interference and protection and negative rejection. Fathers showed more severe punishment, excessive interference, negative rejection and excessive protection, and mothers showed more excessive interference and protection on boys than on girls. Fathers showed more severe punishment and less excessive protection, and mothers showed more tender affection and negative rejection on only child than on non-only children. Fathers in urban areas showed more tender affection on only child than on non-only children.2 there were significant gender differences on urban and rural adolescents, school adjustment. The scores of boys were significantly lower than those of girls on academic achievement, while the scores of boys were significantly higher than those of girls on aggression and loneliness in urban and rural China. The scores of boys were significantly lower than those of girls on shyness-sensitivity behavior and peer acceptance in urban areas. The scores of boys were significantly lower than those of girls on social-leadership.The total loneliness scores of only children were lower than those of non-only children in urban and rural China. In urban areas, the scores of only children were significantly higher than those of non-only children on social-leadership. In rural areas, the scores of only boys were significantly lower than those of non-only children on social-leadership and shyness-sensitivity behavior , only girls, shyness-sensitivity scores were significantly higher than those of non-only girls.