Relationships Between Parenting Attitudes of Parents and Their Adolescent Children’s Externalizing Problem: Mediating Effects of Grit and Self-Esteem

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of negative parenting attitude of parents on the externalizing problem of adolescent children, and to verify whether grit and self-esteem have a mediation effect between the two variables. This study utilized the data from the Korea Youth Panel 2018 for analysis, and the data from 2,384 middle school students were used for statistical analysis. The data was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results of this study were as follows: The negative parenting attitude of parents was found to have a direct effect on the externalizing problem of their adolescent children. Our analysis found that grit and self-esteem, which are parameters, have a partial mediating effect on the externalizing problem of adolescents. Based on the results, this study suggested social welfare policy and practical implications for better growth and support of adolescents.