Pathways to Armenian youth empowerment in low socioeconomic communities: indirect effects of parenting and moderating effects of gender

This study evaluated self-esteem and emotional regulation as possible mediators of the relationship between authoritative parenting and sociopolitical control in 240 low socioeconomic youths, aged 10 to 16 years (M = 12.48 years, SD = 1.33 years; 122 males, 118 females). Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing their self-esteem, emotional regulation, perception of sociopolitical control, and perceptions of their parents’ supportive parenting and behavior monitoring. The relationship between authoritative parenting and perception of sociopolitical control was mediated by self-esteem and emotional regulation cognitive reappraisal skills. The relationship between authoritative parenting and self-esteem was moderated by gender, in that, authoritative parenting was more predictive of self-esteem in male youth than female youth. This research identifies the importance of family interventions designed to increase authoritative parenting for youth from low socioeconomic communities, and highlights the need to identify other factors that may be important for the development of sociopolitical control in female youth.