College students’ perceptions of parenting style,left-behind experience and parent-child attachment:an analysis based on the actor-partner interdependence model

To investigate the relationship between parenting styles and parent-child attachment among college students, as well as the role of left-behind experiences, this study employed the Simplified Chinese Version of the Parenting Style Questionnaire (S-EMBU-C) and the Parent-Child Attachment Scale (IPPA-R) to survey 755 university students. Based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model analysis, the results revealed that: ① The relationship between mothers’ rejecting parenting styles and parent-child attachment exhibited actor-partner effects. Compared with non-left-behind groups, left-behind groups showed weaker actor effect but no significant differences in partner effect. Fathers’ rejecting parenting styles primarily influenced parent-child attachment through actor effects, with no significant object effects between groups but significant intergroup differences. ② Affectionate parenting styles showed actor-partner effects in relation to parent-child attachment, though no significant intergroup differences were observed. ③ Overprotective parenting styles demonstrated actor-partner effects in parent-child attachment relationships, with no significant intergroup differences. Fathers’overprotective parenting styles showed no significant actor-partner effects, while left-behind groups exhibited significant partner effects.