An analysis of the factors affecting mothers' child rearing attitudes

Child rearing attitudes of mothers bear an utmost importance in maintaining a healthy growing up process and developing a positive personality. Mothers? attitudes are believed to shape up children?s personality characteristics and thus have a life time effect on children. This study particularly aims to analyze the child rearing attitudes of mothers who have preschool age children as well as the external factors influencing their attitudes. This study is designed to be a comparative descriptive study. The sampling was determined with cluster sampling and composed of the mothers of 390 preschool children who were attending Buca Avukat İlhan Ege Anaokulu, Karşıyaka Anaokulu ve Narlıdere Merkez Anaokulu in 2005-2006. The data which were compiled with a Personal Inquiry Form, Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) were evaluated by performing One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Kruskal Wallis Test and Independent Samples t Test. In the light of the results of the study, it was found that there were meaningful differences between the attitudes of mothers varying upon their ages, professional and educational status, educational status of the spouse, their monthly income level, size of the family and their own mothers? child rearing attitudes. Young mothers who have a low status of education and with no professional carreer were found to be overprotective illustrating strict discipline attitudes. However, with a spouse who has a comparatively higher educational status, the mothers were found to adopt a more democratic attitude with less negative ones. The tendency towards obtaining information were found to help mothers to attain more democratic attitudes while gradually lessening negative attitudes. There wasn?t a significant difference between mothers? child rearing attitudes in relation to the children?s sex and their fathers? attitudes.