Abstract
Objective: The growing acknowledgment of self-esteem as an essential element of psychological well-being has highlighted the influence of parenting styles on the self-esteem of children as a significant concern in developmental psychology. This study enhances prior research on the association between self-esteem and parenting styles by investigating the mediating effect of cognitive flexibility. Method : This research is a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational study carried out in 2024 involving children between the ages of 6 and 12 in Beijing, China. Parents who volunteered participated by filling out self-report surveys, such as the short version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI). These surveys were distributed via a Sojump link shared on social media. For the statistical analysis, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and path analysis were employed. Results: A total of 150 children took part in this survey. The correlation analysis revealed that there were positive associations between the authoritative parenting style and the cognitive flexibility scale among children (r = 0.325, P < 0.01) and cognitive flexibility and self-esteem (r = 0.448, P < 0.01). There was also a significant negative correlation between authoritative parenting and authoritarian parenting (r = -0.402, P < 0.01). Moreover, results support the mediational hypothesis. However, the authoritative parenting style is no longer a significant contributor to self-esteem among children after controlling for cognitive flexibility as the mediator, β = 0.11, SE = 0.10, t = 1.06, P = 0.2897, 95% CI [-0.0941, 0.3131], suggesting a full mediation. This result indicated that the indirect coefficient was significant β = 0.1919, SE = 0.0595, 95% CI [0.0846, 0.3160]. Conclusion: The results of this study present an intriguing profile suggesting that certain psychological factors, such as authoritative parenting and cognitive flexibility, may enhance children's to self-esteem development. This research offers valuable insights for parents, educators, policymakers, and future researchers regarding the significance of authoritative parenting and cognitive flexibility in shaping children's self-esteem.