- Pediatric Practice and Research
- Cilt: 11 Sayı: 3
- Parenting Styles and the Use of Physical Discipline: An Investigation into Correlates
Parenting Styles and the Use of Physical Discipline: An Investigation into Correlates
Authors : Nicel Yildiz Silahli, Şenay Türe
Pages : 116-124
View : 105 | Download : 137
Publication Date : 2023-10-15
Article Type : Research
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 : ebeveynlik, fiziksel ceza, disiplin, ebeveynlik stilleri