The relationship between perceived parenting styles and feelings of entitlement in college students.

This dissertation explored the relationship between perceived parenting styles and feelings of healthy entitlement in college students. This study was motivated by two primary research questions: Do perceived parenting styles predict feelings of healthy entitlement among college students controlling for parental education? Are there differences between perceived maternal parenting styles and paternal parenting styles in their prediction of healthy entitlement among college students controlling for parental education? Previous research has shown that parents can impact the adult child’s development and sense of self, especially feelings of entitlement. Furthermore, Lareau (2010) suggests feelings of entitlement can assist young adults by advancing their work and educational outcomes. Therefore, it is important to understand which parenting styles can properly encourage its development during childhood. This study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the hypotheses (N = 411). It was hypothesized that certain parenting styles will predict feelings of healthy entitlement more than others. As predicted, the authoritative parenting style for both mothers and fathers was positively related to feelings of healthy entitlement. The permissive and authoritarian parenting styles for both mothers and fathers were negatively related to feelings of healthy entitlement. The study also found high parental education had a strong negative relationship with healthy entitlement. These findings offer insight into the relationships between parents and how parental perception can impact children’s future feelings of entitlement in their college years and adulthood. This study adds to the literature by offering insight as to which parenting styles influence the development of healthy entitlement taking into account parental education.