Parenting styles, child abuse and depression amongst adolescents

Abstract

A correlational survey study titled “Parenting Styles, Child Abuse and Depression Amongst Adolescents were carried out Hope for Justice, Uganda (RETRAK). The study focuses on the relationship between parenting styles, child abuse and depression among adolescents. The study illustrates the primary parenting styles and how they affect depression among adolescents. Depression amongst adolescents increases gradually due to poor parenting styles characterized by child abuse. Adolescents who undergo child abuse from parents, elders and the community a large are victims to poor parenting styles that is to say [permissive, authoritarian and neglectful parenting styles]. In most cases they experience feelings of helplessness and worthlessness due to child abuse/inadequate parental care and support that brings about negative feelings and conditions hence causing depression. The study had the following objectives; to examine the relationship between parenting styles and child abuse among adolescents, to examine the child abuse and depression among adolescents, to establish a link between parenting styles, child abuse and depression among adolescents. a total of 100 respondents were interviewed. The study has revealed that there is no significant relationship between child abuse and depression among adolescent. It has been revealed further that there is a significant relationship between parenting styles and depression where there was a negative significant relationship between authoritative parenting styles and depression, a positive relationship between authoritarian parenting styles and depression. There was no significant relationship between permissive parenting styles and depression and lastly there was a significant relationship between depression and neglective parenting styles. Lastly it has been revealed through the study findings that there is a significant relationship between child abuse and parenting styles, this is because there is a significant relationship between authoritarian parenting styles and child abuse, there was xi a significant negative relationship between authoritative parenting styles and child abuse, there was a significant negative relationship between child abuse and permissive parenting styles and lastly there was no significant relationship between child abuse and neglective parenting styles.