An examination of the relationship between non-rationalist beliefs in mothers, parental stress, parental behaviours and behaviour problems in children

The objective of this research is to assess a model designed to elucidate the connections among maternal parenting stress, irrational beliefs, parenting competencies, and behavioral issues in children. The study cohort comprised 305 participants, specifically mothers of children aged between 3 and 10 years. Various instruments were utilized to gather data, including the Parenting Difficulties Scale (FDS), Parents' Irrational Beliefs Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and Alabama Parental Behavior Scale. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was employed to ascertain the associations between the variables under investigation, while Structural Equation Modeling was utilized to evaluate the proposed model. The findings revealed that mothers' perfectionist beliefs were predictive of their expectations, which in turn significantly influenced parenting stress. Parental stress exhibited a negative correlation with positive parenting, whereas negative parenting displayed a positive correlation. Furthermore, negative parenting was linked to heightened behavioral problems in children, whereas positive parenting was associated with increased social behaviors in children. Moreover, the outcomes indicated that maternal irrational beliefs indirectly impacted children's behavioral problems and social behaviors through parenting stress and parenting skills. This study underscores the potential utility of incorporating parental beliefs into interventions aimed at supporting parents.