engleski

Mother’s parental behaviour in the context of perception of child’s temperament and adult attachment to own mother

Parental behaviour can be influenced by various factors related to characteristics of the child, the parent and the context. It can be assumed that combination of child’s temperament and quality of mother’s adult attachment to the own mother can, to a certain extent, contribute to explaining parental behaviours. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether mother’s perception of child’s temperamental dimensions and mother’s adult attachment to the own mother can predict mother’s parental behaviour. 203 mothers of preschool-aged children participated in this study. EAS Temperament Questionnaire (Buss & Plomin, 1984) was used to examine mother’s perception of child’s temperament in terms of child’s emotionality, activity and sociability. Mother’s adult attachment to the own mother was assessed by Modified Experiences in Close Relationship Inventory (Kamenov & Jelić, 2003) measuring anxiety and avoidance in relationship with their own mother. Parental behaviour was assessed by Parental Behaviour Questionnaire (Keresteš, Brković, Kuterovac Jagodić & Greblo, 2012). Results indicated that perception of a higher level of child’s emotionality as well as a higher level of anxiety in attachment to own mother contribute to lower parental support. Further, perception of a higher level of child’s emotionality also contributes to a higher level of mother’s restrictive control. Finally, mothers whose adult attachment to the own mother is characterized by a higher level of anxiety are more likely to be permissive to their own child. Results obtained in this study are in line with some previous studies implying that the perception of child’s temperamental dimensions and adult attachment to the own mother can predict mother’s parental behaviour.

mother’s parental behaviour, child’s temperament, mother’s attachment to own mother, adult attachment

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