Authoritarian Parenting, Emotional Invalidation, and Self-Doubt in Pakistani Collectivist Families: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed-Methods Study

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20772624

Abstract

Fear-based parenting practices, including emotional invalidation, guilt induction, and authoritarian control, are normalized within collectivist family structures across South Asia, yet the pathways linking such practices to self-doubt and emotional dysregulation in Pakistani young adults remain underexamined. This paper presents a explanatory sequential mixed-methods exemplar modeling how 250 young adults (aged 18–30) in Pakistan might be assessed using the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The illustrative results depict authoritarian parenting as significantly correlated with emotional dysregulation (r = .52), trait anxiety (r = .47), and self-doubt (r = .49), all p < .001; a hypothetical regression model in which authoritarian parenting predicts self-doubt (β = .44, R² = .38); and a mediation model in which emotional invalidation substantially mediates this relationship (indirect β = .31). A corresponding hypothetical qualitative phase (n = 20 interviews) generates four themes: obedience through fear, emotional silence as survival strategy, guilt as emotional control, and internalized self-criticism. The integrated illustrative findings model how the cultural scaffolding of fear-based discipline in Pakistani households might be examined and reported, with implications for culturally sensitive clinical and educational practice discussed as a demonstration of genre rather than as evidence-based recommendations.