**4. Results**

#### **4.1 Demographic result and direct effect**

To examine the direct relationship between maternal personality and children's creativity, we looked at the correlations between five personality characteristics and three creativity constructs. These correlations are reported in the upper part of **Table 2**.

**Table 2** shows no significant correlations among the 15 combinations. Effect sizes were small, medium, and large if the magnitude of correlations is around 0.10, 0.30, and 0.50, respectively [56]. **Table 2** shows all correlations were below 0.10, except the correlation between conscientiousness and imagination (0.184), and between neuroticism and fluency (−0.115). There was no direct effect of maternal personality on creativity of children.

Next, we investigated the indirect effects of maternal personality on children's creativity through parenting style. First, we looked at the effects of maternal personality on parenting style for three domains and three single items. The results were reported in the lower part of **Table 2** for the economy of space. From **Table 2**, conscientious and openness personalities showed statistically significant correlations with an authoritative parenting style (*r* (88) = 0.375, *p* < 0.01 and *r* (88) = 0.421, *p* < 0.01, respectively). A significant result was found between neuroticism and an authoritarian parenting style (*r* (88) = 0.376, *p* < 0.01), and this in turn correlated significantly with creativity. For the three single items, a conscientious personality showed statistically significant correlations with NGA (*r* (88) = 0.393, *p* < 0.01, respectively). Neuroticism and agreeableness showed significant correlation with FCG (*r* (88) = 0.360, *p* < 0.01; *r* (88) = −0.282, *p* < 0.01). Openness significantly correlated with item EIW (*r* (88) = 0.348, *p* < 0.01, respectively). These single items were correlated with creativity as we shall see.

In terms of effect sizes, all those nonsignificant correlations were of small effect sizes. All those statistically significant correlations ranged from 0.249 to 0.421 and were of "medium" effect sizes. Next, we looked at how the three parenting styles and the three single items of parenting were correlated with the three creativity constructs, and the results are shown in **Table 3**.


#### **Table 2.**

*Correlations between five personalities, three creativities, and three parenting styles.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Correlations between three parenting styles and three creativities.*

Out of the total 9 (=3 × 3) combinations of domain level, only the authoritarian parenting style showed a significant relationship with fluency and originality (*r* (88) = −0.279, *p* < 0.05; *r* (88) = −0.278, *p* < 0.05). And the correlation between permissive parenting style and imagination was marginal (*r* (88) = −0.245, *p* = 0.069). In terms of effect sizes, these three correlations were of small to medium effect, with the rest being small. For the three single items of parenting, item NGA showed a significant relationship with all the creativity constructs (fluency, originality, and imagination) (*r* (88) = 0.242, *p* < 0.05; *r* (88) = 0.220, *p* < 0.05; *r* (88) = 0.259, *p* < 0.05). Item FCG was significantly correlated with imagination (*r* (88) = −0.228, *p* < 0.05). Item EIW was significantly correlated with imagination (*r* (88) = −0.259, *p* < 0.05). The effect sizes of all these significant correlations were medium.

Combining the results in the previous steps, at the domain level, we found significant correlations between authoritative and authoritarian parenting and maternal personality, but only authoritarian parenting has significant correlations with two creativity constructs. Even when considering effect sizes, the results did not change, i.e., the only two possible indirect paths between maternal personality and children's creativity are from neuroticism to an authoritarian parenting style, and then from an authoritarian parenting style to fluency and originality.

For the three single items of parenting, we followed the above procedures and found nine indirect paths toward creativity. The following nine combinations have the sequence: independent variable, mediator, and dependent variable.


*Indirect Effects of Parenting Style on the Relationship between Maternal Personality… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102378*

There were total of 11 combinations, the regression models were shown in Appendix 1. Next, we investigated these indirect effects.

#### **4.2 Indirect effects**

We used the PROCESS procedure in SPSS to investigate if any indirect effects existed for the possible paths found. The results are presented in **Table 4**.

From **Table 4**, at the domain level, the confident interval (CI) of the indirect effects from neuroticism to fluency via authoritarian parenting is (−0.6427, 0.0331) with point zero included, indicating an insignificant result. For the indirect effects from neuroticism to originality via authoritarian parenting, the CI is (−0.505, −0.0134) with point zero excluded, indicating statistically significant results. Hence, there are no indirect effects of neuroticism on fluency via authoritarian parenting. But there are indirect effects of neuroticism on originality via authoritarian parenting.


*Note: X, M, and Y stand for independent variable, mediator, and dependent variable, respectively. Coefficient a, b, and c stand for the path from X to M, M to Y, and indirect effects from X to Y via M. CI of indirect effects are confident intervals of coefficient c.*

#### **Table 4.**

*Indirect effects of five maternal personalities, three parenting styles, and three creativities.*

The sign of the effects of neuroticism on an authoritarian parenting style was positive, indicating that more neuroticism will lead to more authoritarian parenting. But the sign of the effects of authoritarian parenting style on originality was negative, indicating that more authoritarian parenting will lead to lower originality. So, the combined indirect effect of neuroticism on originality was negative, indicating that mothers with more neurotic characteristics will indirectly lead to lowering originality in creativity in children.

For the nine possible paths from maternal personalities to creativity via three single items of parenting, results are shown in the lower part of **Table 4**. First, all CIs have point zero excluded and hence, all indirect effects are significant. Secondly, the signs of EIW and FCG on imagination were both negative, indicating that more parenting in EIW will lead to less imagination, and hence the indirect paths were negative from openness to imagination via EIW, and from neuroticism to imagination via FCG. However, since the sign from agreeableness to FCG was also negative, the overall indirect effect of agreeableness on imagination via FCG was negative, indicating more maternal agreeableness may indirectly lead to more imagination if the parenting style is FCG.

Thirdly, it is the results from the single item NGA (not setting guidelines at all) that are most significant and interesting. All signs for *a*, *b*, and *c* coefficients were positive. The *b* coefficients, indicating the effects of NGA on creativity, were especially high for fluency and imagination. And NGA affects all three creativity constructs. If the maternal personalities are either of conscientiousness or openness, and in addition, if the parenting style is NGA, children's creativity will be improved in all aspects. We will return to this in the Section 5.
