The role of personality in the relationship between the perceived parenting style and the choice of coping mechanisms

Abstract

This study examined the moderating role of personality in the relationship between perceived parenting type and personal coping style. One hundred and fourteen women and 30 men, aged between 16 and 71 years old, participated in the present study. The instruments used were the Parenting Style Inventory-II (PSI-II), the COPE inventory, and Big-Five IPIP-50. Results showed that social coping was the only coping style that was significantly predicted by parenting dimensions. It was found that extraversion negatively moderates the relationship between mothers’ and, respectively, fathers’ parenting styles and social coping. Emotional stability also negatively moderates the link between parenting and social coping, but only for the mother’s parenting. When analysed the separate dimensions of the parenting styles, it was found that emotional stability also negatively moderates the relationship between mother’s, respectively father’s warmth and social coping. Agreeableness was found to moderate the positive link between maternal parenting style and social coping, more specifically, maternal control. Openness to experience negatively moderated the relationship between maternal warmth and social coping. No significant relationships were found for conscientiousness. The present study can contribute to clinical practice by the insight it provides on the interaction between personality and environmental factors in the development of coping styles. This information can be used in tailoring the psychological interventions so that they can best suit each personality type.