Article ID: 2022-A207
This study aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying parenting styles on college student’s mental health. 935 college students aged 19–21 years were surveyed using the short-form of Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran (S-EMBU), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), and the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-2nd Edition (AAQ-II), to examine the effects of parenting styles on negative emotions in college students and the mediating effect of experiential avoidance. The results showed that: (1) Parenting style can affect experiential avoidance and negative emotions; (2) Experiential avoidance has a partial mediating effect between parenting style and negative emotions; (3) Father’s negative parenting style and experiential avoidance have a chain mediating effect on mother’s negative parenting style and negative emotions. These findings suggest that parenting styles have a direct effect on the negative emotions of college students and an indirect effect through experiential avoidance.