Introduction: Studies have shown significant associations between parenting practices, life satisfaction, and self-esteem, and the role of parenting practices in adolescent adjustment, emphasizing its influence on wellbeing.
Objectives: To analyze the relationships between parenting practices, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, and test the mediating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between the different parenting practices and life satisfaction of adolescents.
Method: The sample came to a total of 742 adolescents, with an average age of 15.63 (SD = 1.24; range 13-19). The Parenting Style Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale were used.
Results: Perception by adolescents of high levels of affect and communication, self-disclosure, and a sense of humor related to their parents, as well as low levels of psychological control, explained the life satisfaction of the adolescents. Self-esteem exerted a partial mediating effect on the relationship between parenting practices and satisfaction with the life of the adolescent. Finally, self-esteem also appeared to be a moderator variable, specifically in the effect of self-disclosure on the life satisfaction of the adolescent.
Conclusions: The results reinforce the role of personal variables, especially self-esteem, in parent-child interaction and in the improved subjective wellbeing of the adolescent.
Keywords: adolescence; family relations; life satisfaction; parenting practices; self-esteem.