Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

“It’s Just a Cycle We Have to Break”: Emerging Adults’ Perceptions of the Influences of Parenting Styles on Emotion Socialization

This study explores college students' perceptions of parenting styles and how they impact emotion socialization. Previous quantitative research has studied the effects of parenting styles on emerging adults' socio-emotional development, but few studies have assessed their personal experiences and examined the similarities among them. A qualitative examination was used by conducting one-on-one semi-structured interviews. My study intends to answer two research questions which are: what are college students' perceptions of how parenting styles affect emotional development, and what do college students think parents should do to support healthy emotional development? The results suggest a major theme of navigating parental impacts on emotion socialization, and two subthemes: suppressing negative emotions and modeling appropriate ways to express emotions. College students believe that because of their parent's parenting style, they suppress negative emotions to avoid negativity, dismiss emotions, and because they feel responsible for their parent's emotions. The second subtheme: modeling appropriate ways to express emotions, suggests that parents should practice what they preach, and break the cycle to support healthy emotional development. My findings contribute to the field of developmental psychology by highlighting how parenting styles continue to influence emotional development into emerging adulthood.