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U.S. Parenting Survey

Using novel survey data developed by Gallup social scientists, the Institute for Family Studies and Gallup have partnered to publish research about the effects of parenting on adolescents' wellbeing.

Featured Report

Parenting Is the Key to Adolescent Mental Health

Today's adolescents are in the midst of a mental health crisis -- a crisis that has claimed more adolescent lives than COVID-19 between 2020 and 2023.

The Institute for Family Studies and Gallup have partnered to publish research on how parenting practices affect the parent-child relationship and adolescent mental health.

This report reveals the responses of thousands of U.S. parents and adolescents to questions about mental health and the quality of their relationship with one another.

Parenting Is The Key To Adolescent Mental Health report cover

From June 26 to July 17, 2023, Gallup collected responses from 6,643 parents who care for a child between the ages of 3 and 19 for the Gallup Familial and Adolescent Health Survey. For parents with teens aged 13 to 19, Gallup requested permission to also survey the child with the next birthday and collected 1,580 completed surveys from adolescents who assented. All adult respondents were members of the Gallup Panel and initially recruited through random sampling, making the panel nationally representative with appropriate weighting. Gallup statisticians created weights so that parental results could be interpreted as nationally representative of households with children between the ages of 3 and 19, by gender, age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment and region. Child responses are weighted to be representative of households with children between the ages of 13 and 19.

+7 The probability of good mental health increases by seven percentage points in adolescents whose parents say they hug or kiss their child every day.
+14 Parents who rate the relationship with their spouse as an 8 out of 10 or better score approximately 14 points more likely to adopt best-practice parenting strategies than parents who rate their spousal relationship below an 8.
-8 The probability of good mental health decreases by eight points in adolescents whose parents say they find it difficult to discipline their child.
Other Work

Additional Work Insights

The Quality of Parent-Child Relationships in U.S. Families
Social & Policy Issues

The Quality of Parent-Child Relationships in U.S. Families

Parenting Mitigates Social Media-Linked Mental Health Issues
Wellbeing

Parenting Mitigates Social Media-Linked Mental Health Issues

Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day
Wellbeing

Teens Spend Average of 4.8 Hours on Social Media Per Day

Additional Reports

Explore More Related Publications

Additional Reports

How Parenting and Self-Control Mediate the Link Between Social Media Use and Youth Mental Health

Download How and self-control mediate the link between social media use and youth mental health. Report
Cover of the How and self-control mediate the link between social media use and youth mental health. Report
Additional Reports

Relationship Quality, Parenting Practices, and Adolescent Mental Health Across Diverse U.S. Populations

Download Relationship Quality, Parenting Practices, and Adolescent Mental Health Across Diverse U.S. Populations Report

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