adolescents’ self-esteem in single and two-parent families

background: self-esteem is one of the basic needs for all individuals especially in adolescence. the aim of this study was to determine associations between adolescents’ self-esteem and perceived maternal parenting styles as well as its dimensions in terms of family type. methods: in this analytic cross-sectional study, 356 high school students (250 two-parent nuclear family and 106 single-parent family) participated and filled out the coppersmith self-esteem and the robinson and colleagues (2001) perceived parenting styles questionnaires. data were analyzed by spss software, version 18. to assess the relationship between participants’ self-esteem and parenting styles and dimensions, mantel–haenszel chi-square test was used to adjust the effect of potential confounder variables. p≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. results: from a total of 370 questionnaires, 356 questionnaires were completed. the mean±sd of the participants’ self-esteem score was 38.49±6.55. mean±sd of self-esteem score among the two-parent and single-parent students was 39.06±6.36 and 37.42±7.28, respectively (p=0.034). dominant parenting style in both families was authoritative style. there were significant associations between the respondents’ self-esteem and their perceived parenting styles, after matching sex, family income, level of education, and parents job (p<0.005). conclusion: the results of this research can be used in educational interventions to modify the dimensions of parenting styles and improve self-esteem. therefore, considering the relationship between child-rearing style and adolescent self-esteem, assessing other relating factors with adolescent self-esteem especially in single-parent family, such as father absence stigma, is suggested.