Parenting Style, Social Intelligence and Maladaptive Daydreaming in Adolescents

Abstract

Background: Parenting styles strongly influence adolescents’ psychosocial development, yet their relationship with social intelligence and maladaptive daydreaming (MD) remains unclear, particularly in collectivist contexts. MD is an immersive and compulsive form of fantasy that may be shaped by both familial rearing practices and cognitive-emotional capacities. Objective: This study examined associations between three parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive), social intelligence, and MD in late adolescents, and tested the mediating role of social intelligence across nine hypotheses. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 222 A-level students aged 16–19 years from two campuses in Lahore, Pakistan. Standardized measures included the Parenting Style Scale, MESI Social Intelligence Scale, and Maladaptive Daydreaming Scale (MDS-16). Analyses employed Pearson correlations and mediation models (Hayes’ PROCESS, Model 4). Results: Of the nine hypotheses, three were supported, three were contradicted, one was not supported, and two yielded unexpected mediation patterns. Authoritative parenting was negatively associated with MD, whereas authoritarian parenting was positively associated. Permissive parenting showed no significant link with MD. All three parenting styles correlated positively with social intelligence, and social intelligence itself unexpectedly correlated positively with MD. Mediation analyses revealed a paradoxical indirect effect of authoritarian parenting on MD through increased social intelligence, while authoritative parenting reduced MD independently of social intelligence. Conclusion: Parenting styles demonstrate complex and culturally contingent pathways to adolescent MD, with authoritative parenting protective, authoritarian parenting risk-enhancing, and social intelligence exerting paradoxical effects. Findings have implications for adolescent mental health screening and culturally sensitive family-based interventions.