ABSTRACT

Authoritative parenting styles are associated with higher academic performance, such as Grade Point Average (GPA), than other parenting styles. A study done by Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, and Fraleigh (1987) found that students with authoritative parents had higher grades in school than students who had authoritarian or permissive parents. The problem addressed in this study was how parents’ parenting styles along with students’ living arrangements affected students’ academic success. This study examined correlations between parenting styles, living arrangements, and students’ academic achievements. Data was obtained from 91 college students ranging from age 18 to 28 at a Midwestern university. The participants completed the Parental Authority Questionnaire by Buri (1991) for both parents and a Demographic Questionnaire created by the researcher. An ANOVA and bivariate correlation were performed on the following variables from the Parental Authority Questionnaire and the Demographic Questionnaire: parenting style for each parent, GPA, living arrangements, and scholarships received by the students. It was expected that college students who have lived with a parent possessing an authoritative parenting style, according to the Parental Authority Questionnaire, will demonstrate a higher GPA and will report more scholarship rewards than other students. The results suggest that the students who had an authoritative mother reported higher a GPA in college and in high school but had no effect on reported scholarship. The parenting style of the father had no effect on the reported GPA in high school, college, or scholarship. The living arrangements of a student had no effect on reported GPA in high school, college, or scholarship.