Abstract
Life satisfaction is a central cognitive component of subjective well-being and reflects an individual's overall evaluation of life. Parenting styles and remembered parental rearing experiences may be associated with adult well-being, but the strength and consistency of these associations in Indian samples remain uncertain. This narrative review synthesises Indian studies published from 2015 to 2026 that examined parenting or perceived parental rearing alongside life satisfaction in adult samples. A structured, documented search of scholarly web sources and journal repositories was undertaken, supplemented by backward reference tracking from a relevant Indian study published in 2021. Studies were screened for Indian sampling, adult participants, a parenting-related exposure, and a direct life-satisfaction measure. Four studies were identified as potentially relevant to the review: Rani, Singh, and Jaiswal (2016), Singh, Thapliyal, and Chowdhury (2021), Chugh and Dutt (2025), and Dhatri et al. (2026). The studies differed in their operationalisation of parenting, participant groups, and analyses. Rani et al. reported that remembered parental rearing dimensions explained a modest proportion of variance in life satisfaction. Singh et al. reported a positive correlation between an aggregate parenting-style score and life satisfaction, although the reporting does not establish style-specific associations. Chugh and Dutt reported no significant association in their young-adult and working-adult groups. Dhatri et al., studying working mothers' current parenting styles, found a weak, nonsignificant association between parenting-style scores and life satisfaction. Overall, the available evidence is limited and methodologically heterogeneous. It does not support a definitive conclusion that a particular parenting style consistently predicts adult life satisfaction in India. More transparent, adequately powered studies using validated measures, clearly defined adult samples, and culturally responsive designs are needed.
Keywords
- Parenting styles
- Parental rearing
- Life satisfaction
- Adults
- India
- Narrative review
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