Perceived teacher and parental acceptance and behavioral control, school conduct, and psychological adjustment among school-going adolescents in India

This study explored the relationship between Indian adolescents' perceptions of their teachers' and parents' (mothers' and fathers') acceptance and behavioral control, students' conduct in school, and students' psychological adjustment. A sample of 217 high school students in India was enrolled in the study. Results showed that the students perceived their teachers, mothers, and fathers to be warm and accepting, but boys experienced more teacher acceptance than girls. Boys also experienced more maternal acceptance than girls. Both boys and girls perceived teachers as well as parents to be firm in behavioral control. Teachers reported both genders to be well behaved, though girls tended to be somewhat better behaved than boys. Both boys and girls self-reported minor psychological adjustment problems, though the more caring students perceived both their teachers and parents to be, the better was their psychological adjustment. In addition, the less controlling girls (but not boys) perceived their teachers and parents to be, the better was their psychological adjustment. Regarding school conduct, only perceived paternal and maternal-but not teacher-acceptance were associated with boys' behavior in school. For girls, however, both teachers' and parents' acceptance and behavioral control were significantly correlated with school conduct, though only perceived teacher acceptance made a unique contribution to their school behavior.