The Relationship Between Parenting Style and the Level of Emotional Intelligence in Preschool-Aged Children

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between parenting style and the level of emotional intelligence in preschool-aged children. The sample consisted of eighty parent participants of preschool-aged children between the ages of 3 and 6 years old. Participants completed the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) in order to assess their views on behaviors that parents typically demonstrate towards their children. Based on each participant’s responses on the PSDQ they were determined to favor one of the following three parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, or permissive. Participants also completed the Children’s Behavior QuestionnaireVery Short Form (CBQ-VSF) in an effort to assess three areas of temperament directly related to emotional intelligence in their preschool-aged children: surgency, negative affect or temperament, and empathy. The results indicated that there was one significant relationship found specifically between the authoritarian parenting style and preschool-aged children’s degree of negative affect or negative temperament related to emotional intelligence. No other interactions were found between the remaining parenting styles and children’s level of emotional intelligence.