Parenting styles and adolescents’ school engagement: The mediating role of future orientation

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and adolescents' school engagement, and the mediating role of future orientation, as well as the differences across four educational stages. A total of 1501 students from Northeast China participated in this survey, including primary school students (n = 518), middle school students (n = 338), high school students (n = 335) and college students (n = 260). The questionnaires assessed parenting styles (caring, autonomy support, and controlling), future orientation, and school engagement. Results showed that at all educational stages, caring and autonomy support parenting styles have a direct positive effect on adolescents' school engagement, while controlling parenting style has a negative effect. In addition, the adolescents' future orientation mediated the link between parenting styles and school engagement. This indirect effects model has developmental stage differences across three different parenting styles. The findings highlight the mechanisms of influence of parenting styles on adolescents' school engagement and the important role of future orientation.