Religious/spiritual struggles and perceived parenting style in a religious college-aged sample

Abstract

Parent–child interactions shape children’s internal working models (IWMs) i.e., their understanding of themselves, others, and close relationships, including with the Divine. Positive IWM are related to less interpersonal and intrapersonal distress. The quality of a child’s IWM is also related to various aspects of religion/spirituality (r/s). While r/s benefit many people, some experience struggle around r/s issues. Our study explores the relationship between perceived parenting style and r/s struggles among Catholic college students (n = 464). Results suggest that increased parental warmth, involvement, and autonomy support are related to decreases in overall r/s struggle. Regression analyses found that maternal warmth was the strongest unique predictor of overall r/s struggle as well as each subscale, except Demonic. Subsequent analyses regrading Moral struggles found that increases in both subscales of scrupulosity (Fear of God’s Punishment and Fear of Having Sinned) independently predicted more Moral struggle. Clinical implications are discussed and parenting considerations are proposed.

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