Comparison of parenting methods and mental health of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and mothers of normal children aged 5 to 12 in Bandar Lange and Bandar Kong cities.

Master's Thesis in the field of Psychology (M.A)

Trend: clinical

Abstract

Aim: The current research was to compare parenting practices and mental health of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and mothers of normal children aged 5 to 12 years old in Bandar Lange and Bandar Kong cities. Method: This research was designed and implemented using a descriptive-causal comparative method. The sample included 80 people (number of 40 Mothers of children with behavioral disorders in Bandar Lange and Bandarkong cities and the remaining 40 mothers of normal children (a sample) were selected. Parenting practices questionnaires, GHQ-28 mental health test and Rutter's behavioral disorders were completed by the mothers of the sample members. The research used a comparison test of two independent variables. The independent variable T test showed that there is a significant difference between the mental health of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and the mothers of normal children in Bandar Lange. Also, the independent variable T test showed that there is no significant difference between the release scale of children with behavioral disorders and mothers of normal children in Bandar Lange. The independent variable T-test showed that there is no significant difference between the authoritative scale of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and the mothers of normal children in Bandar Langeh and Bandarkong cities, and the independent variable T-test showed that there is a significant difference between the logical authority scale of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and mothers of normal children in Bandar Langeh and Bandarkong cities. Conclusion: Compared to mothers of children with behavioral disorders, mothers of normal children use a more rational way in dealing with their children, but at the same time, they also apply a degree of freedom and strictness, which seems to be a requirement of the logical authority method. On the other hand, mothers of children with behavioral disorders are more inclined to use permissive and authoritarian parenting methods.

Keyword: parenting methods, mental health, behavioral disorders

Introduction

The relationship between parents and children is one of the important issues that has attracted the opinion of educational experts and experts for years. The family is the first base that creates a bond between the child and the surrounding environment. In the family, the child learns basic ideas about the world; grows physically and mentally; learns the ways of speaking; learns the basic norms of behavior; And finally, his attitudes, morals and spirits are formed and, in other words, he becomes social. Every family uses certain methods in the individual-social education of their children. These methods, which are called parenting methods, are affected by various factors, including cultural, social, political and economic factors (Hosseini Nesab et al., 2015).

Child rearing methods have changed over the centuries. In the past society, which had strict and authoritarian rules - that is, the same society in which today's parents were raised - people's relationships were established in the form of superiors and subordinates, the father of the house was considered the superior power, and the mother was obedient to him and the children were obedient to both. The society was well organized and everyone knew their role in the society. If the society had maintained the same structure, many of today's major problems would not have arisen. But the society is not static and its vast changes have led to raising basic questions about the basic structure of the society (Lali Faz et al., 2007).

Psychological disorders that manifest themselves in the form of non-adaptive behavioral patterns, more or less different from time to time and from culture to culture, have afflicted many men, women and children as far as human history has shown (Pourafkari, 2013).

Also, child psychologists and specialists consider the cause of many children's abnormalities to be family relationships and parents' parenting methods, and emphasize the impact of childhood events on the formation of people's personalities and their lives. Considering that children's psychological conditions will not be able to change without changing the functioning of families, and in correcting children's behavior, the reciprocal and complex relationship between children's behavioral problems and family variables should be taken into consideration.

Therefore, this research was conducted with the aim of comparing the parenting methods and mental health of mothers of children with behavioral disorders and mothers of normal children aged 5 to 12 years old in Bandar Lange and Bandarkong cities.

1-2 Statement of the problem:

The relationship between parents and children is one of the important issues that has attracted the attention of psychologists and education specialists for years. The family is the first base that creates a bond between the child and the surrounding environment. In the family, the child learns the basic ideas about the world, develops physically and mentally, learns the ways of speaking, learns the basic norms of behavior, and finally his attitudes, morals, and spirits are formed and, in other words, he becomes social. Each family uses certain methods in the individual and social education of their children, which are called parenting methods. Parenting methods are considered as a set or system of behaviors that describe the child's parent's interactions during a wide range of situations (Ander [1] and Golay [2], 2009).

Parenting methods are one of the structures It is a world that expresses the emotional relationships and the general communication between parents and children and is considered an important factor for children's growth and learning (Zi[3], 2004; Pratt[4], 2003). Conceptually, the parenting method is under the influence of two theoretical frameworks: first, attachment theory, which is based on the early works of John Balby (Balby[5], 1969) and the subsequent works of Mary Ainsworth[6] and her colleagues (1978). According to this theory, the nature of children's relationships with important people in life (such as parents or both other caregivers) in the early years of life shapes many aspects of children's social, emotional and cognitive development. Second, the researches related to the relationship between parents and children, which have examined the attitudes and actions of parents in the process of parenting (Yousfi, 2016).

Based on the definition of Darling [7] and Steinberg [8] (1993; Glasgow [9] et al., 1997), parenting methods can be defined as follows: "Parenting methods are a set of tendencies, actions and non-verbal effects. which defines the nature of the interaction between the child and the parents in all different situations". Parenting practices represent normal variations in parents' efforts to control and socialize their children. Therefore, these methods are a tool to describe the differences in normal parenting and are closely related to the issue of control, in such a way that most researchers believe that the main role of parents is to educate and control the child (Jan Gergi et al., 2017). In these observations, parents' behavioral characteristics are usually evaluated by two dimensions: a) Acceptance (warmth), which includes support and fostering positive affection between parents and children. b) Control, which includes those behaviors of parents that guide their child's behavior, such as guiding and controlling, inhibiting or facilitating (Katanin [10] et al., 2001).

Parenting methods are a determining and effective factor that plays an important role in children's development and psychopathology, and as part of family influences, has a great contribution in directing children's behaviors. It is almost impossible to discuss each of the psychological characteristics and problems of children without considering their attitudes, behaviors and parenting methods.  Undoubtedly, all parents are challenged with the task of optimally promoting the normal development and health of their children, which challenges are both in the direction of physical growth and maturity and in the direction of the social, emotional and intellectual development of children (Anten and Golan [11], 2009). Although psychologists and theorists emphasize the role of parents and parenting methods, limited research has been done on parenting methods and their relationship with children's psychological characteristics. Fathers and mothers differ in a wide range of characteristics necessary for parenting, and different combinations of paternal and maternal parenting methods are related to children's adaptation and health. Family environment and parenting methods bring important results in children's psychosocial development (Ander and Gulay, 2009).