The mediating role of masculinity role norms in the influence of perceived parenting attitudes on psychological symptoms

Perceived parenting attitudes refer to the way parents' behaviors are perceived and influence children's personality development and self-actualization. Parenting attitudes are evaluated in terms of emotional warmth, overprotection, and rejection (Dirik et al., 2015). Masculinity is a concept constructed within societal norms and, therefore, challenging to define. The study focused on masculinity role norms, which encompass three sub-dimensions: status, toughness, and femininity opposition, as conceptualized by Thompson and Pleck (1986). Psychological symptoms include anxiety, depression, negative self-perception, somatization, and hostility. Children can learn their parents' parenting attitudes through observational learning, which continues to influence us throughout our lives. Socialization of gender roles, including the modeling of parental figures and imitation of their behaviors, contributes to the learning process. Parents' parenting attitudes, their expectations toward the child, and their beliefs and behaviors can significantly impact the child's socialization. Due to their assigned gender roles, women and men are exposed to different parenting attitudes and can be influenced by their parents' attitudes. Early social interactions shape individuals' lives, and the development of various psychopathologies can be attributed to these interactions. Additionally, individual masculinity role norms can have an effect on psychological symptoms. The main objective of the research was to examine the relationship between perceived parenting attitudes and psychological symptoms and determine the mediating role of masculinity role norms in this relationship. Another objective was to explore the relationships between participants' demographic variables, such as age, gender, city of residence, maternal education level, paternal education level, and masculinity role norms. The study was conducted using an online survey method and involved 585 voluntary participants aged between 18 and 49, representing adulthood and middle age. Participants completed the Demographic Information Form, the Shortened Perceived Parenting Attitudes Scale-Child Form, the Male Roles Scale, and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Data analysis included independent samples t-tests for intergroup comparisons using SPSS 26, Pearson correlation analysis to determine the relationships between perceived parenting attitudes, masculinity role norms, and psychological symptoms, regression analysis to predict psychological symptoms based on variables, and mediation tests to determine the mediating role of masculinity role norms. The findings of the study revealed that the adoption of masculinity role norms differed according to gender, age, city of residence, maternal education level, and paternal education level. It was found that perceived parenting attitudes were associated with psychological symptoms. Specifically, the perception of rejecting mothers and rejecting fathers had an impact on hostility, with partial mediation by the endorsement of toughness norms. The study is expected to contribute to the field of Clinical Psychology literature and interventions regarding perceived parenting attitudes, masculinity role norms, and psychological symptoms.