Anxiety and anger may explain how parenting styles shape life satisfaction

A study of Italian young adults found that anger and anxiety may help explain the relationship between parental bonding and life satisfaction. The results suggested that parental overprotection might lead to higher anxiety, which, in turn, reduces life satisfaction. Similarly, better parental care could lead to greater anger control, which may enhance life satisfaction. The research was published in the Journal of Psychology.

Parental bonding refers to the emotional connection and relationship that develops between a parent and their child, especially in early life. It involves feelings of warmth, closeness, and commitment to the child’s well-being. Strong parental bonding is essential for a child’s healthy emotional, social, and cognitive development. It fosters a sense of security and trust, forming the foundation for future relationships.

Factors that influence bonding include the parent’s mental health, sensitivity to the child’s needs, and the quality of early caregiving. Disrupted bonding—such as through neglect or inconsistency—can contribute to attachment difficulties and behavioral problems. Parental bonding is not fixed and can strengthen over time through positive interactions and responsive parenting.

Study author Martina Smorti and her colleagues aimed to investigate the psychological processes linking parental bonding—specifically, the emotional connection with both mother and father—and life satisfaction. They focused on two dimensions of parental bonding: care and overprotection, and hypothesized that anger and anxiety might mediate the relationships between these dimensions and life satisfaction.

The study included 369 Italian adults, with an average age of 22 years; 242 were women. About 72% had a college degree, 12% held a master’s degree, and 60% reported living with their family. Additionally, 69% reported that they were not currently employed.

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Participants completed self-report assessments of parental bonding (the Parental Bonding Instrument), anger expression and control (the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory–2), anxiety (the Beck Anxiety Inventory), and life satisfaction (the Satisfaction with Life Scale).

The results showed that participants who perceived higher levels of maternal or paternal care tended to exhibit better anger control and express anger less frequently. They also reported lower anxiety and greater life satisfaction. In contrast, participants who reported higher levels of parental overprotection—by either parent—tended to report higher anxiety, more frequent expression of anger, and lower life satisfaction. Greater anger control was associated with lower maternal overprotection but was not linked to paternal overprotection.

The researchers tested statistical models to determine whether anger and anxiety mediated the relationship between parental bonding and life satisfaction. The analyses suggested that anxiety may mediate the relationship between parental overprotection and life satisfaction—meaning that overprotective parenting might increase anxiety, which is then associated with lower life satisfaction. Similarly, anger control appeared to mediate the relationship between parental care and life satisfaction. Negative expressions of anger also seemed to mediate the link between maternal overprotection and life satisfaction.

“These findings demonstrated that maternal and paternal bonding might play a role in the life satisfaction of young adults through different underlying psycho-emotional mechanisms,” the study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the psychological factors underlying the links between parental bonding and life satisfaction. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any definitive causal inferences to be derived from the results.

The paper, “Exploring the Links Between Parental Bonding and Life Satisfaction: Anxiety and Anger as Underlying Mechanisms,” was authored by Martina Smorti, Cansu Alsancak-Akbulut, Francesca Pozza, and Carmen Berrocal Montiel.