parenting practices and family stability among families with adolescents in makindye division, kampala city

Description

Background: Family stability, characterized by harmony, good communication between parents, and no migratory tendencies or family disruptions, has been found to have significant associations with child mental health. Family instability has been linked to a higher likelihood of depressive symptoms, anxiety and substance abuse among children. It has been postulated that one of the ways through which family stability could be perpetuated, could be through the adoption of certain child parenting practices. However, this has not been proven yet, despite some pockets of evidence. Objective: The study aimed to explore the relationship between parenting practices and family stability among families in Makindye division, Kampala City. Method: A cross-sectional design was used, targeting 384 adolescents in Makindye division, stratified by parish and random sampling to sample a village from each parish. Households were sampled conveniently, and adolescents were purposively sampled, following which they were engaged in structured interviews. Results: The level of family stability among households with adolescents in Makindye division was 57%. The prevalence of authoritative parenting among parents of adolescents in Makindye division was 68%, that of authoritarian parenting was 28.2%, and that of permissive parenting was 9%. All the parenting practices (Authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive) had a statistically significant relationship with family stability. Conclusion: There is fair family stability among households with adolescents in Makindye division, the majority of which are authoritarian in terms of child parenting, followed by authoritative ones, with the smallest number having permissive parents. It came out that the application of these parenting practices significantly impacted on the family stability; however there seems to be other factors which have greater impact on family stability than these parenting practices.