Positive Illusions in Parenting: Systematic Review

Abstract

Positive illusions in parenting refer to the tendency of parents to hold overly favorable beliefs about their children’s abilities, intelligence, character, or achievements, often diverging from objective reality. These illusions, encompassing superiority illusion, positive bias, optimism bias, illusion of control, overvaluation, and self-reflection, serve as psychological mechanisms that enhance parental well-being, self-efficacy, and motivation while fostering supportive parenting behaviors. However, they also pose risks, including unrealistic expectations, neglect of children’s developmental needs, and the potential for fostering narcissistic traits or distorted self-concepts in children. This systematic review synthesizes findings from 25 studies (1988–2024) identified through Google Scholar, ProQuest, and Wiley Library, exploring the effects of positive illusions on parenting attitudes, behaviors, and parent-child interactions. The results indicate that while positive illusions can bolster parenting satisfaction and emotional resilience, excessive or unbalanced illusions may lead to detrimental outcomes, such as overlooking children’s shortcomings, fostering performance anxiety, or hindering autonomy development. Notably, parents with higher socioeconomic status and education levels exhibit stronger positive illusions, potentially as a strategy to enhance social competitiveness. The review underscores the importance of balancing positive illusions with realistic expectations to support healthy child development and effective parenting. Recommendations include targeted education in psychological counseling and parenting programs to help parents recognize their children’s true potential while mitigating the adverse effects of cognitive distortions.

Keywords

• Positive illusions
• positive illlusion in parenting
• parenting

Ebeveynlikte Olumlu Yanılsamalar: Sistematik Derleme

Öz

Ebeveynlikte olumlu yanılsamalar, ebeveynlerin çocuklarının yetenekleri, zekâları, karakterleri veya başarıları hakkında nesnel gerçeklikten saparak aşırı olumlu inançlar geliştirme eğilimini ifade eder. Üstünlük yanılsaması, olumlu önyargı, iyimserlik önyargısı, kontrol yanılsaması, aşırı değer biçme ve öz-yansıtma gibi türleri kapsayan bu yanılsamalar, ebeveynlerin iyilik halini, öz-yeterlik algısını ve motivasyonunu artırırken destekleyici ebeveynlik davranışlarını teşvik eden psikolojik mekanizmalar olarak işlev görür. Ancak, gerçekçi olmayan beklentiler, çocukların gelişim ihtiyaçlarının ihmal edilmesi ve çocuklarda narsisistik özellikler veya çarpık benlik algıları oluşma riski gibi olumsuzlukları da beraberinde getirir. Bu sistematik incelemede, Google Scholar, ProQuest ve Wiley Library üzerinden belirlenen 1988-2024 yılları arasındaki 25 çalışmanın bulgularını sentezleyerek olumlu yanılsamaların ebeveynlik tutumları, davranışları ve ebeveyn-çocuk etkileşimleri üzerindeki etkilerini araştırılmıştır. Sonuçlar, olumlu yanılsamaların ebeveynlik memnuniyetini ve duygusal direnci artırabileceğini, ancak aşırı veya dengesiz yanılsamaların çocukların eksikliklerini göz ardı etme, performans kaygısı yaratma veya özerklik gelişimini engelleme gibi zararlı sonuçlara yol açabileceğini göstermektedir. Özellikle, daha yüksek sosyoekonomik statü ve eğitim seviyesine sahip ebeveynler, sosyal rekabeti artırmak için daha güçlü olumlu yanılsamalar sergilemişlerdir. Bu inceleme, sağlıklı çocuk gelişimini ve etkili ebeveynliği desteklemek için olumlu yanılsamaların gerçekçi beklentilerle dengelenmesinin önemini vurgulamaktadır. Psikolojik danışmanlık ve ebeveynlik programlarında, ebeveynlerin çocuklarının gerçek potansiyelini tanırken bilişsel çarpıtmaların olumsuz etkilerini azaltmalarına yardımcı olacak hedefe yönelik eğitimler önerilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Olumlu yanılsamalar
• ebeveynlikte olumlu yanılsama
• ebeveynlik

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