An investigation of mother's self-efficacy and mother's anxiety perception of preschool children according to mother's working status

The main purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the self-efficacy of working and non-working mothers and their anxiety perceptions about their children. In addition to the main purpose, it was also examined whether the self-efficacy of working and non-working mothers and their anxiety perceptions about their children showed a significant difference according to sociodemographic variables. In addition, the relationships between the working status of the mother and some variables determined within the scope of the research were also examined. Sociodemographic form prepared by the researcher, Parent Self-Efficacy Scale and Preschool Anxiety Scale were used in line with the realization of the stated objectives. The data obtained as a result of the application of the sociodemographic form and the scales were analyzed with the SPSS 22 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) statistical program. Since the sample group did not meet the normality values, non-parametric tests such as Spearman Correlation Analysis, Mann-Whitney U Test and Chi-Square test and Kruskal Wallis H test were used. As a result of the research, it was determined that there is a negative relationship between the self-efficacy of mothers and their anxiety perceptions about their children. In addition, it was found that mothers between the ages of 18-25 had a higher perception of anxiety about their children than other age groups, single mothers had a higher perception of generalized anxiety disorder for their children, and mothers with postgraduate education had a lower perception of anxiety about their children than mothers with other education levels. In addition, it was concluded that the parenting-specific strategies of working mothers were higher than the parenting-specific strategies of the non-working mothers, the specific phobia perception of the children of non-working mothers was higher than the specific phobia perception of the working mothers, and the anxiety perception of the children of the mothers with daughters was higher. Finally, it is concluded that the greater the number of children that the mother has, the more likely it is that she will work and the mothers with 0-6 years of age children with high school and above education levels tended to work 4.5 times less than mothers with 0-6 years of age children with high school and below education levels.