Objective: To investigate the association between perceived primary parenting styles and attachment styles between single-parent children and children living with both parents.

Methods: The correlational study was conducted at the Lahore Garrison University, Lahore, Pakistan, from September 2017 to March 2018, and comprised an equal number of children from single-parent families and those living with both the parents. Data was collected using the parental authority questionnaire and the Urdu version of the inventory of parental and peer attachment. Data was analysed using SPSS 21.

Results: Of the 200 children, 100(50%) were in each of the two groups, and both the groups had 50(50%) girls and boys each. The overall mean age of the sample was 14.56±3.03 years (range: 11-18 years). There was a significant negative correlation between permissive parenting styles with mother's communication (p<0.05); authoritarian parenting style had negative correlation with parental communication and trust(p<0.001). Authoritative parenting had significant positive relationship with trust (p<0.001), and communication with parents (p<0.001), and there was negative relationship between authoritative parenting with feeling alienated from parents (p<0.01). Single-parent children perceived their parents as authoritarian (p<0.001) and had more alienated attachment with parents (p<0.001), whereas children living with both the parents had more trust (p<0.001) and had better communication with their parents (p<0.001).

Conclusions: It is important to understand the role of parents and different parenting styles in building up strong parentchild attachment.