ABSTRACT
Parenting styles have been found to be related to children’s and adolescents’ psychological, social, academic, and educational outcomes. The methodology used to investigate the impact of parenting styles on children has varied but has demonstrated the importance of focusing on the individual perceptions of both mothers and fathers about their parenting styles and comparing them with their children’s perceptions. Children’s perceptions of parenting styles are often better predictors of children’s outcomes than are parents’ perceptions. This chapter reviews empirical research in Oman over the last ten years that has utilized different methodologies to understand how parents interact with their children and how this interaction influences children’s outcomes. An authoritative parenting style (characterized by high demandingness and high responsiveness) is the most common style among Omani parents followed by the authoritarian parenting style (characterized by high demandingness and low responsiveness). The permissive parenting style (characterized by low demandingness and high responsiveness) is less common in the Omani context. These parenting styles were found to predict children’s outcomes, including their academic self-efficacy beliefs, self-concept, mental health, university adjustment, learned helplessness, goal orientation, depression, and academic achievement.
