Parenting Styles and Student Academic Performance in The Bahamas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v30i1.563Abstract
International evidence suggests that parenting styles have a significant impact on academic success. However, there is paucity of Caribbean literature on this phenomenon. The current Bahamian study utilises a quantitative method to examine the relationship between parenting styles and students’ academic performance, using Diana Baumrind’s authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles model. The sample consists of 582 randomly selected parents and 582 students. The survey instrument comprises a demographic questionnaire and the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) enabling parents to self-report parenting styles on a five-point Likert scale. Grade point averages from school records were used to measure academic performance. Reliability analyses revealed overall good internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .80) for the PSDQ on the Bahamian parent sample. Pearson product-moment correlation analyses indicate no statistically significant relationship between the authoritative, authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and students’ academic performance in The Bahamas. Low to moderate correlations resulted between the authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles, respectively and academic performance. A moderate negative correlation was yielded between the permissive parenting style and academic performance. Results from this study are intended to broaden the literature on parenting styles and the impact thereof on academic performance in The Bahamas and the Caribbean.
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