The examination of the relationship between perceived parental attitudes and perceptions of loneliness, optimism, and pessimism in adolescent

In this study, the relationship between perceived parental attitudes in adolescents and perceptions of loneliness and optimism-pessimism was examined. Additionally, it was investigated whether adolescents' perceived parental attitudes, perceptions of loneliness, and optimism-pessimism differed according to gender, age, grade level, income status, number of siblings, parental survival status, and parental education level. The sample group of the study, where a descriptive research model was applied, consisted of 535 students, 286 of whom were female and 249 were male, studying in the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades in six public high schools affiliated with the Antalya Directorate of National Education in the years 2023-2024. In this research, data were collected using the "Parental Attitude Inventory (PAI)" developed by Kuzgun (1972), the "Loneliness Scale (UCLA)" developed by Yıldız and Duy (2014), the "Optimism-Pessimism Scale (OPS)" developed by Çalışkan and Uzunkol (2018), and the "Personal Information Form" developed by the researcher. The data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26 package program. In the analysis of the obtained data, t-test, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Bonferroni test, Post Hoc test, and Correlation Analysis were used. The significance level in the study was accepted as. According to the statistical data of the research, it was observed that there was a significant relationship between perceived parental attitudes in adolescents, which are sub-dimensions of perceived parental attitudes: perceived democratic parental attitude, perceived overprotective parental attitude, perceived authoritarian parental attitude, and perceptions of loneliness and optimism-pessimism. A weak positive relationship was found between perceived democratic parental attitude and optimism, a weak negative relationship between pessimism and loneliness, and a weak negative relationship between perceived overprotective parental attitude and optimism, a weak positive relationship between pessimism and loneliness. A weak negative relationship was found between perceived authoritarian attitude and optimism, a weak positive relationship between pessimism and loneliness. Additionally, when the relationship between perceptions of optimism-pessimism and loneliness in adolescents was examined, a weak negative relationship was found between optimism and loneliness, and a moderate negative relationship was found between pessimism and loneliness. When the total scores of perceived parental attitude sub-dimensions (democratic, overprotective, authoritarian) of adolescents, which were the research variables, were examined according to demographic variables, it was found that there were differences according to the grade level in adolescents perceiving their parents as authoritarian and democratic. Additionally, differences were found according to parental education level in adolescents with a democratic parental attitude. Another variable of the study, loneliness, showed differences according to income status. The perception of pessimism, a sub-dimension of optimism-pessimism, showed significant differences according to income level.