Effects of parenting style upon psychological well-being of young adults: Exploring the relations among parental care, locus of control, and depression.

The current study explores the relations among parenting styles and depression among a representative longitudinal sample of 642 young Dutch adults. We assumed that if parents show their involvement during the first sixteen years of the lives of their children, these children are more likely to develop an internal locus of control. In turn, children with an internal locus of control would be less likely to experience feelings of depression later in life. Additionally, we examined the reverse relation, namely that depression leads to a shift away from the internal pole of the locus of control dimension. These notions were tested using structural equation models. The results indicated that our expectations were largely tenable. However, while the effects of mother's and father's involvement upon the development of an internal locus of control seemed to differ, for depression feelings we did not find much difference. Implications of the study are discussed. © 1997 OPA(Overseas Publishers Association).