Surveying parents' supervision behaviors of their preschool children by questionnaire method, psapq- Turkish

Aim Parents' perception of risk, knowledge of safety, and childcare qualifications are the main factors in handling childhood injuries. However, it is not easy to measure the supervision qualities of an individual caring for a child. This study aims to determine the supervision attributes of the parents of their preschool children. Material and Methods The subjects were the parents of children between the ages 2 and 5 who were followed by the Child Health Surveillance and/ or Ambulatory Pediatrics Clinics, and/ or attended day care centers at our University Hospital. A total of 240 parents participated in the study. The study was conducted using a cross- sectional method; the data were collected using a form which provided information on the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the families; and,The Turkish Version of the Parent Supervision Attributes Profile Questionnaire, PSAPQ- Turkish which was validated from PSAPQ(1). The scale is a 5- point Likert type and consists of 29 items and four subcales. The data were first checked with the Shapiro-Wilk Normality Test to assure for normal distribution. For independent group comparisons, Mann- Whitney U and Kruskal- Wallis tests were used. The Binary Logistic Regression and the Multiple Linear Regression Model were also used. Results The rate of previous injuries was 22.5%, mainly falls and burns. The need for treatment after an injury was 11.7%; hospitalization rate was 2.5%. Our study found that as the mother and father's age increased, the frequency of injury in children decreased. The mean score of "belief that fate controls their child's health" subscale was significantly higher in the mothers who did not work; and the score was the highest in the age group 25 to 29. The group that defined socioeconomic status as income being less than expenses and lived in a town or village for the longest time had the highest mean score in "belief that fate controls their child's health" subscale. According to the results of logistic regression analysis, the prospect of having an accident/ injury is 23 times more for the child of a mother whose age is between 18- 24 years of age compared to that of a mother over 40. By multiple linear regression analysis, it was predicted that each unit increase in the mother's education status variable would cause a decrease in the protectiveness, a decrease in the supervision requirements, and an increase in the risk tolerance subscales. Conclusion We found that parents' qualifications to supervise their children changed with many descriptive characteristics of the mother, father and the child. The scores of the four subgroups of the scale were significantly different by the mother's age and working status; the education level and health of the parents; the socioeconomic level and the place of residence. We concluded that the maternal age and education level are strong predictors of the supervisory qualities and the probability of an injury in the child.