Assessment of level of self esteem and perceived parenting style among school going adolescents in Puducherry: a cross-sectional analytical study

Background: Adolescence is a critical developmental period during which self-esteem and family relationships may influence psychosocial well-being. Parenting style contributes to the emotional climate in which adolescents develop. This study assessed self-esteem and perceived parenting styles and examined their associations among school-going adolescents in Puducherry. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 486 school-going adolescents aged 13-17 years from government and private higher secondary schools in urban and rural areas of Puducherry between September and October 2024. Participants were selected using stratified cluster sampling technique. Data were collected using a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and a perceived parenting style scale. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests and Pearson correlation were used. Results: Most adolescents had moderate self-esteem (91.6%); 4.3% had low and 4.1% had high self-esteem. Authoritative parenting was the most commonly perceived style (53.5%), followed by authoritarian (34.2%) and permissive (12.3%). Self-esteem showed weak negative correlations with authoritative (r=-0.045; p=0.318) and authoritarian parenting (r=-0.027; p=0.555), and a weak positive correlation with permissive parenting (r=0.085; p=0.060); none was statistically significant. Type of school (p=0.009) and area of residence (p=0.022) were associated with self-esteem. Gender (p≤0.001), type of school (p=0.018) and area of residence (p=0.017) were associated with perceived parenting style. Conclusions: Most adolescents had moderate self-esteem and perceived authoritative parenting as the predominant style. No statistically significant correlation was observed between self-esteem and perceived parenting style. Adolescent mental health programmes should consider family, school and community contexts.