The mediating role of psychological resilience in father-child relations and social skills in early childhood

Early childhood is a critical period in which the social, emotional and mental foundations of individuals are laid and the fastest growth occurs. While the social skills acquired in this period contribute to children's development of healthy self-esteem and establishing effective relationships throughout their lives, especially the positive relationships that the father establishes with his child in this period play a critical role in terms of the child's social emotional development and psychological health. In this context, this study aims to examine the relationship between father-child relationships and social skills in early childhood and the mediating role of psychological resilience in this relationship. Considering the insufficiency of studies on father-child relationships, social skills and psychological resilience variables in the literature, this study aims to fill the gap in the field. Using a quantitative research design, the study was conducted with 375 parents with children between the ages of 0 and 8 in the city of Ağrı. The results show that positive father-child interactions significantly increase children's social skills and psychological resilience, which in turn further enhance social competence. Psychological resilience was found to partially mediate these relationships and its importance as a protective factor in children's socio-emotional development was emphasized. These findings underline the critical role of fathers in early childhood development and suggest strengthening early childhood education programs to support father-child relationships, developing trainings based on family communication and psychological resilience, creating awareness projects especially on traditional gender roles, and increasing economic policies for fathers.