Parental styles, gender and the development of hope and self‐esteem

We examined the developmental trajectory of trait hope and self‐esteem over 4 years and the impact of gender and perceived parental styles on these trajectories. Participants were 884 high school students. There was a general decline in hope and self‐esteem over time, with females declining more rapidly than males. Girls had higher hope than boys in Grade 7, but lower hope by Grade 10. Perceived parental authoritativeness at Time 1 was related to high hope across the 4 years, whilst perceived parental authoritarianism was related to low self‐esteem. We discuss the importance of perceived parental styles for adolescent well being, as well as possible explanations for changes in hope and self‐esteem. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.