Investigation of the relationship between adolescents' perceptions of parental attitudes and behavioral problems

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between adolescents' perceptions of parental attitudes and behavioural problems. In this study, which was conducted with the cross-sectional survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, data were collected through the 'Demographic Information Form', 'Parental Attitude Scale' (PAS) and 'Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire' (SDQ). The study group consisted of 386 adolescent students attending secondary and high school in Kemer district of Antalya province in the 2024-2025 academic year. Simple random sampling method was used to determine the study group. The research data were analysed through Independent Samples t Test, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis H tests, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson Correlation Analysis, Spearman Brown Correlation Analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that adolescents had the highest level of control/supervision and the lowest level of psychological autonomy perception. Depending on the gender factor, a significant difference was found only in the perception of control/supervision, and it was observed that the perceptions of female adolescents towards their parents were higher than those of male adolescents. In the analyses applied according to the demographic characteristics of the parents, it was observed that the level of control/supervision perceived by the children decreased especially as the age of the fathers increased. In addition, depending on the birth order variable, it was found that adolescents born in the second order had higher levels of attention deficit and hyperactivity. In the light of the findings, it is seen that the increase in acceptance/affection, psychological autonomy and control/supervision attitudes perceived by adolescents from their parents reduces behavioural difficulties and supports positive social behaviours. In conclusion, it can be said that parental attitudes play a decisive role in the psychosocial adaptation of adolescents and the adoption of democratic and supportive attitudes by parents positively affects the healthy development of children.