Social vulnerability in the country has various implications for the development of children and adolescents (NNyA) because they are exposed to multiple adversities and limitations in life. However, the parenting style of the primary caregivers can be an important strength to minimize negative behaviors, such as the macho mentality. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the association between social vulnerability, parenting styles and macho mentality in 200 primary caregivers of boys/girls and adolescents between 4 and 16 years old. The study was developed under a correlational design, in which three instruments were used to collect the data, the ad-hoc Sociodemographic record, the Spanish Adaptation of the Parental Upbringing Questionnaire (PCRI-M) and the Machismo Subscale. The results show a very low positive association between macho beliefs and social vulnerability, while no relationship was found with parenting styles. In addition, it has been shown that macho beliefs depend more on social vulnerability and not on parenting styles. © 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.