The aim of this study was to translate and adapt two scales of parental responsiveness and demandingness to Portuguese (Brazil). According to these scales levels, it is possible to categorize four parenting styles. The scales were administred to 378 adolescents of both sexes and showed satisfactory reliability coefficients (alpha between 0,70 and 0,83). Analysis of variance indicated that perceived mothers’ demandingness was greater than fathers’ for both sexes, but girls observed higher levels of parental demandingness than boys. Both males and females attributed higher scores of responsiveness to their mothers than to their fathers, but girls scored higher on mothers’ responsiveness than boys. No significant differences between sexes were found for fathers’ level of responsiveness. The frequency of parenting styles observed in this sample was 13,3% (authoritarian), 36,7% (authoritative), 14,5% (indulgent) and 35,5% (negligent), suggesting that, in this culture, parents migth not be as permissive as usually believed.
Parenting styles; adolescence; family
