The Structural Model of the Relationship Between Parental Stress and Couple Communication Patterns with the Democratic Parenting Style: The Mediating Role of Sense of Coherence

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the structural model of the relationship between parental stress and couple communication patterns with the democratic parenting style, considering the mediating role of the sense of coherence. The research method was correlational. The statistical population consisted of parents of elementary school students in Tehran during the 2022–2023 academic year, from which 639 individuals were selected using cluster sampling. Data collection instruments included the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1990), the Couple Communication Patterns Scale (Christensen & Sullaway, 1984), the Sense of Coherence Scale (Antonovsky, 1993), and the Authoritative Parenting Questionnaire (Robinson et al., 2001). Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling. The results indicated that stress index, avoidance, demand/withdraw, and criticism/defensiveness had a significant negative relationship with authoritative parenting (P < 0.01). Moreover, the sense of coherence and constructive interactions showed a significant positive relationship with authoritative parenting (P < 0.01). The modeling results demonstrated that the model had an acceptable fit, and the sense of coherence played a mediating role between parental stress index, constructive interactions, and demand/withdraw with democratic (authoritative) parenting. Ultimately, the findings indicated that parental stress index, couple communication patterns, and the sense of coherence influence parenting.