Parenting Styles and the Use of Physical Discipline: An Investigation into Correlates

Abstract

Background/Aims Parenting is the process of supporting children in their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. Parental violence against children is widespread throughout the world. Given the harmful effects of physical punishment, it is important to explore alternative disciplinary methods and promote positive parenting styles. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and parents' use of physical punishment. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic of xxx University Hospital between June and December 2022. The study included consenting parents who had children aged between 2 and 6 years and who applied to the clinic during this period. Participants (n:117) completed a questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics, the 'Parental Attitude Scale' and the use of physical punishment. Results: The study included 117 parents with children aged 2-6 years. Most participants were mothers (78,44%, n=91) with a mean age of 35.02±4.11 years. The total number of children of the participants was 117 and 59 (50.4%) of the children were male. Seventy-seven (83.7%) of the mothers were university graduates. Seventy-one (65.1%) of the participants had only one child. The main characteristic of the parents' attitudes was democracy with a score of 74.99±9.92. Only permissive attitudes were found to be statistically significantly higher among middle- and high-income parents than among low-income parents. Among the participants, 41.6% (n:47) reported using any form of punishment, 16.1% (n:18) reported using physical punishment and 74.1% (n:86) reported using verbal punishment/violence. Conclusions: In our study, it is noteworthy that although the participant parents exhibited a democratic attitude in the foreground, physical punishment was used. Parenting and disciplinary practices should be evaluated during child health follow-up and the family should be mentored about possible damaging disciplinary methods. Appropriate parenting styles can help families develop positive parenting characteristics and promote the development of mentally healthy children. More comprehensive studies are needed on this subject.

Keywords

• Physical Punishment
• Discipline
• parenting style
• Parenting

Ebeveynlik Stilleri ve Fiziksel Ceza Kullanımı: Bağıntılar Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Özet Giriş Ebeveynlik, çocukların fiziksel, duygusal, sosyal ve zihinsel gelişimlerini destekleme sürecidir. Çocuklara yönelik ebeveyn şiddeti dünya genelinde yaygındır. Fiziksel cezanın zararlı etkileri göz önüne alındığında, alternatif disiplin yöntemlerini keşfetmek ve olumlu ebeveynlik tarzlarını teşvik etmek önemlidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, ebeveynlik stilleri ile ebeveynlerin fiziksel ceza kullanımı arasındaki ilişkiyi araştırmaktır. Materyal ve Yöntem Bu tanımlayıcı kesitsel çalışma, Haziran-Aralık 2022 tarihleri arasında İstanbul Medipol Üniversitesi Hastanesi Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Polikliniğinde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmaya 2-6 yaş aralığında çocuğu olan ve bu süre zarfında kliniğe başvuran ebeveynlerden onam verenler dahil edilmiştir. Katılımcılar (n:117) sosyo-demografik özellikler, 'Ebeveyn Tutum Ölçeği' ve fiziksel ceza kullanımı hakkında bir anket doldurdu. Sonuçlar: Çalışmaya 2-6 yaş arası çocukları olan 117 ebeveyn katılmıştır. Katılımcıların çoğu anneydi (%78,44, n=91) ve yaş ortalaması 35,02±4,11 yıldı. Katılımcıların toplam çocuk sayısı 117'dir ve çocukların 59'u (%50,4) erkektir. Annelerin yetmiş yedisi (%83,7) üniversite mezunudur. Katılımcıların yetmiş biri (%65,1) tek çocuk sahibidir. Ebeveynlerin tutumlarının temel özelliği 74.99±9.92 puan ile demokrasidir. Sadece izin verici tutumlar orta ve yüksek gelirli ebeveynler arasında düşük gelirli ebeveynlere göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı derecede daha yüksek bulunmuştur. Katılımcıların %41,6'sı (n:47) herhangi bir tür ceza kullandığını, %16,1'i (n:18) fiziksel ceza kullandığını ve %74,1'i (n:86) sözel ceza/şiddet kullandığını bildirmiştir. Sonuç: Çalışmamızda, katılımcı ebeveynlerin demokratik bir tutum sergilemeleri ön planda olmasına rağmen fiziksel cezanın kullanılması dikkat çekicidir. Ebeveynlik ve disiplin uygulamaları çocuk sağlığı izlemleri sırasında değerlendirilmeli ve olası zarar verici disiplin yöntemleri konusunda aileye danışmanlık verilmelidir. Uygun ebeveynlik stilleri, ailelerin olumlu ebeveynlik özellikleri geliştirmelerine yardımcı olabilir ve zihinsel olarak sağlıklı çocukların gelişimini teşvik edebilir. Bu konuda daha kapsamlı çalışmalara ihtiyaç vardır.

Keywords

• ebeveynlik
• fiziksel ceza
• disiplin
• ebeveynlik stilleri

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