Parenting Styles, Bullying Behavior and Mental Health of Prisoners

Abstract

The current study examined the association between parenting styles, bullying behavior, and the mental health of prisoners. We hypothesize that there was likely to be a positive relationship between parenting styles and bullying behavior, respectively, and there was likely to be a positive relationship between parenting styles and the mental health of prisoners in jail. It was also hypothesized that there is expected to be a negative relationship between bullying behavior and mental health, and bullying behavior was likely to mediate between parenting styles and the mental health of prisoners. The study uses a cross-sectional research design and purposive sampling strategy to recruit 134 participants (Men=, 104, Women=30). The sample was within the age range of 18-55 years (M=35.13& SD=9.65). Demographic sheet, Parental Authority Questionnaire-short version, Direct and Indirect Prisoners Behavior Checklist-R, and Mental Health Inventory were administrated. Correlational analysis revealed a strong correlation among parenting styles, bullying behavior, and mental health. Hierarchal multiple regression analysis revealed that bullying behavior also strongly predicts mental health. The predictor, parenting styles, partially predicts mental health, as one parenting style out of three showed a significant variance in the outcome.