Parenting Styles Predict Future-Oriented Cognition in Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Parenting is a crucial environmental factor in children's social and cognitive development. This study investigated the association between parenting styles and future-oriented cognition skills in elementary school-aged children. Cross-sectional data were collected from parents of 200 Iranian elementary school aged children (6-13 years), 139 boys and 61 girls. Baumrind's Parenting Styles Questionnaire and Children's Future Thinking Questionnaire (CFTQ) were administered to parents. There was a significant positive association between authoritative parenting and children's abilities in prospective memory, episodic foresight, planning, delay of gratification, and future-oriented cognition total score. In contrast, authoritarian parenting was negatively correlated with children's abilities in planning, delay of gratification, and future-oriented cognition. Increases in authoritative parenting scores predicted better future-oriented cognition abilities in children.