Perceptions of parental styles and Eysenckian psychoticism in youth: A prospective analysis

Using data from the Wollongong Youth Study, we assessed the extent to which perceptions of parental styles predict levels of Eysenckian psychoticism in adolescence. Participants were 660 high school students (males = 322; females = 332; 6 did not indicate gender) who were tracked for 12 months. The modal age of the respondents was 12 years at Time 1. In addition to the psychoticism scale (Corulla, 1990), participants also rated both parents on permissiveness, authoritativeness, and authoritarianism. Structural equation modeling revealed that only one parenting style, authoritativeness, significantly predicted psychoticism at Time 2, while controlling for Time 1 psychoticism. Gender differences were also observed. The results are discussed with reference to different parenting styles and the nature of psychoticism.