<![CDATA[Undergraduate students aged 18–25 years are in the phase of emerging adulthood, which is characterized by various academic, social, and psychological demands that may affect mental well-being. In the Indonesian cultural context, mothers play a dominant role as primary caregivers; therefore, the quality of parenting practices becomes an important factor influencing children’s psychological development into early adulthood. This study aimed to examine the effect of maternal authoritative parenting on university students’ mental well-being. A quantitative approach was employed using a nonprobability sampling technique through convenience sampling. The participants consisted of 736 active undergraduate students aged 18–25 years in the Greater Jakarta area (Jabodetabek). Data were collected online using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) and the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ). Data analysis involved the Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test and simple linear regression analysis. The results indicated that maternal authoritative parenting had a significant and positive effect on students’ mental well-being (p < 0.001), with a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.15. These findings suggest that maternal authoritative parenting accounts for 15% of the variance in students’ mental well-being. This study underscores the importance of mothers’ roles in applying authoritative parenting as a protective factor for students’ mental well-being during early adulthood.]]>
