Paul and Brenda Chabot and their four children moved to Texas to escape California

Children who grow up in politically liberal households are more likely to suffer mental healthproblems than their conservative peers, according to a new study.

An Institute for Family Studies-Gallup report found that “political ideology is one of the strongest predictors” of which caregiving styles a parent adopts, and conservative parents are associated with the best mental health outcomes for their children.”Conservative and very conservative parents are the most likely to adopt the parenting practices associated with adolescent mental health,” study author Jonathan Rothwell, who is also the principal economist at Gallup and nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote . “Liberal parents score the lowest, even worse than very liberal parents, largely because they are the least likely to successfully discipline their children.”

And this,

The best mental health results come from “warm, responsive, and rule-bound, disciplined parenting,” Rothwell said. This style is otherwise known as “authoritative.”

Negative parenting styles include “authoritarian,” which is characterized by being “cold or harsh,” and the “permissive” style, which lacks proper discipline.

Socioeconomic status did not appear to dictate results, which “may be shocking to many highly educated Americans who were taught to believe that socioeconomic status dictates everything good in life,” the economist continued, adding, “Income doesn’t buy better parenting, and more highly educated parents do not score better, either.”

The style of parenting and the quality of the relationship between parent and child also shaped outcomes among families of different races and ethnicities in the United States, with no significant differences between demographic groups.

Note: This study was sponsored and conducted under the auspices of the Gallup Poll, the gold standard of surveying public opinion in America.  The lead author is Jonathan Rothwell, a fellow at the Brookings Institute, a left/liberal think tank.