Research Article
Open Access
A Study on the Relationship Between Parenting Styles, Subjective Well-Being, and Explanatory Styles Among College Students
1
Southwest Minzu University, Chengdu 610041, China
2
College of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan 063210, China
* Corresponding Author:
Xintian Du,
[email protected]
Volume 1, Issue 1
2026
Received: 04 December 2025
Revised: 29 January 2026
Accepted: 13 May 2026
Published: 15 August 2026
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CC BY 4.0 License
Article Information
Published in
Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education
Volume/Issue
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026
Pages
42-57
Abstract
This study aims to explore the influence of parental parenting styles on college students' explanatory styles and to examine the mediating role of subjective well-being in this relationship. Using convenience sampling, 303 valid questionnaires were collected from undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 Chinese Edition, employing independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, simple effect analyses, correlation analyses, and regression analyses, while the mediating effect was tested using the product coefficient method with Bootstrap sampling via the PROCESS plugin. Results indicated that: (1) certain dimensions of parental parenting styles showed differences by gender and only-child status, with no significant grade differences; (2) only-child status and grade had distinct impacts on subjective well-being and explanatory styles, and certain dimensions of parenting styles were correlated with subjective well-being; and (3) parental parenting styles directly predicted college students' explanatory styles, with subjective well-being playing a partial mediating role. The study concludes that parenting styles influence students' explanatory styles—specifically, emotionally warm parenting positively affects explanatory styles, while rejecting and overprotective parenting negatively impact them. Significant positive correlations exist among parenting styles, subjective well-being, and explanatory styles. Furthermore, subjective well-being mediates the influence of parenting styles on explanatory styles: individuals experiencing rejecting parenting styles tend to report lower subjective well-being, which in turn leads to more negative explanatory styles.
Graphical Abstract
Keywords
parenting styles
subjective well-being
explanatory style
college students
Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.
Funding
This work was supported without any funding.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
AI Use Statement
The authors declare that no generative AI was used in the preparation of this manuscript.
Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate
This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. The research protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of North China University of Science and Technology (Approval No. NCST-2024-078). All participants were informed of the purpose and procedures of the study and provided their informed consent prior to participation. Participation was entirely voluntary, and all participants had the right to withdraw at any time without any consequences. To ensure confidentiality, all data were collected anonymously and used solely for academic research purposes. The study posed no foreseeable risks to participants.
References
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APA Style
Du, X., & Duan, Y. (2026). A Study on the Relationship Between Parenting Styles, Subjective Well-Being, and Explanatory Styles Among College Students. Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education, 1(1), 42-57. https://doi.org/10.62762/JDIE.2025.159515
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TY - JOUR AU - Du, Xintian AU - Duan, Yani PY - 2026 DA - 2026/08/15 TI - A Study on the Relationship Between Parenting Styles, Subjective Well-Being, and Explanatory Styles Among College Students JO - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education T2 - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education JF - Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education VL - 1 IS - 1 SP - 42 EP - 57 DO - 10.62762/JDIE.2025.159515 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JDIE.2025.159515 KW - parenting styles KW - subjective well-being KW - explanatory style KW - college students AB - This study aims to explore the influence of parental parenting styles on college students' explanatory styles and to examine the mediating role of subjective well-being in this relationship. Using convenience sampling, 303 valid questionnaires were collected from undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 Chinese Edition, employing independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, simple effect analyses, correlation analyses, and regression analyses, while the mediating effect was tested using the product coefficient method with Bootstrap sampling via the PROCESS plugin. Results indicated that: (1) certain dimensions of parental parenting styles showed differences by gender and only-child status, with no significant grade differences; (2) only-child status and grade had distinct impacts on subjective well-being and explanatory styles, and certain dimensions of parenting styles were correlated with subjective well-being; and (3) parental parenting styles directly predicted college students' explanatory styles, with subjective well-being playing a partial mediating role. The study concludes that parenting styles influence students' explanatory styles—specifically, emotionally warm parenting positively affects explanatory styles, while rejecting and overprotective parenting negatively impact them. Significant positive correlations exist among parenting styles, subjective well-being, and explanatory styles. Furthermore, subjective well-being mediates the influence of parenting styles on explanatory styles: individuals experiencing rejecting parenting styles tend to report lower subjective well-being, which in turn leads to more negative explanatory styles. SN - pending PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
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@article{Du2026A,
author = {Xintian Du and Yani Duan},
title = {A Study on the Relationship Between Parenting Styles, Subjective Well-Being, and Explanatory Styles Among College Students},
journal = {Journal of Digital Intelligence in Education},
year = {2026},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {42-57},
doi = {10.62762/JDIE.2025.159515},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JDIE.2025.159515},
abstract = {This study aims to explore the influence of parental parenting styles on college students' explanatory styles and to examine the mediating role of subjective well-being in this relationship. Using convenience sampling, 303 valid questionnaires were collected from undergraduate students. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 Chinese Edition, employing independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, simple effect analyses, correlation analyses, and regression analyses, while the mediating effect was tested using the product coefficient method with Bootstrap sampling via the PROCESS plugin. Results indicated that: (1) certain dimensions of parental parenting styles showed differences by gender and only-child status, with no significant grade differences; (2) only-child status and grade had distinct impacts on subjective well-being and explanatory styles, and certain dimensions of parenting styles were correlated with subjective well-being; and (3) parental parenting styles directly predicted college students' explanatory styles, with subjective well-being playing a partial mediating role. The study concludes that parenting styles influence students' explanatory styles—specifically, emotionally warm parenting positively affects explanatory styles, while rejecting and overprotective parenting negatively impact them. Significant positive correlations exist among parenting styles, subjective well-being, and explanatory styles. Furthermore, subjective well-being mediates the influence of parenting styles on explanatory styles: individuals experiencing rejecting parenting styles tend to report lower subjective well-being, which in turn leads to more negative explanatory styles.},
keywords = {parenting styles, subjective well-being, explanatory style, college students},
issn = {pending},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
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