Exploring the Relationship Between Parental Expectations and Adolescent Mental Health: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Parental expectations form an important psychosocial stressor in the adolescent years but the processes in which such parental expectations affect mental health outcomes are not well studied especially in the South Asian setting. The current cross-sectional research tested the hypothesis of the association between perceived parental expectations and mental health (depression, anxiety, and stress) in adolescents, and the mediating factor of self-esteem. In Pakistan, secondary schools located in Karachi were used to recruit a community-based sample of 250 adolescents (aged 13-18 years; M = 15.62, SD = 1.74; 51.2% male). The participants were made to complete the Parental Expectations Scale (PES), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Pearson correlation analyses showed that parental expectations were significantly correlated with all three mental health indices (r =.47 -.53, p <.001) and that self-esteem was significantly correlated with negative correlations between self-esteem and mental health outcomes (r = -.39- -.58, p <.001). The multiple regression analyses showed that, psychological distress could be predicted independently by academic expectations ( = .32, p <.001) and social expectations ( =.24, p <.001) after the demographic variables were taken into account. Self-esteem was found as an important negative predictor ( = -.28, p <.001) indicating its protective role. These results highlight the need to have balanced parental expectation-setting and interventions that enhance self-esteem in adolescents.