Antisocial Behavior and Suicidal Ideation in University Students: Unpacking the Moderating Role of Parenting Styles

Abstract

The research aims to measure the relationship between antisocial behavior and suicidal ideation among university students; the moderating role of perceived parenting styles (permissive, authoritative and authoritarian). The total sample comprised of 313 adults whom were enlisted by use of multistage random sampling from three big cities (Faisalabad, Lahore & Bahawalpur) of Punjab, Pakistan. Three questionnaires were employed; Antisocial Behavior Questionnaire, Parental Authority Questionnaire, and Suicidal Ideation Attributes Scale. Cross-sectional research design was used in this research. The collected quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS (23.0). The results of bivariate correlation analysis found significant positive correlation between antisocial behavior and suicidal ideation among adults. Further, permissive and authoritarian parenting styles were positively associated with antisocial behavior and suicidal ideation. Whereas, authoritative parenting style was negatively correlated with antisocial behavior and suicidal ideation among adults. Further, the moderation analysis checked through the guidelines of Baron and Kenny (1986). The results of hierarchical regression analysis found parenting styles were significantly moderate the relationship between antisocial behavior and suicidal ideation among adults. The limitations and future avenues were also deliberated.