Parental Attitudes in Mothers with Different Level of Personality Maturity

Abstract

The results of numerous medical, psychological and pedagogical studies reported an increase in the frequency of maladaptive disorders in children. Today it is possible to state that the formation of mental disorders and personality pathology largely depends on the characteristics of the environment of the child's upbringing. The mother's behavior, on the one hand, can be considered as a source of development of the child – as the subject of cognitive activity, communication, and self-awareness; on the other hand, it may be the cause of social and psychological ill-health of children, depriving them of emotional stability and security. This article presents the results of empirical studies of parental attitudes of mothers with different levels of personal maturity.Parental attitudes were assessed by the PARI – Parental Attitude Research Instrument (ES Schaefer, RK Bell). PARI is a multidimensional questionnaire exploring different sides of the parents’ relationships to the child and family life. Personal maturity was measured by the Questionnaire of personal maturity by YZ Gilbukh. The study was conducted on mothers of young schoolchildren in the city of Izhevsk. The 104 subjects were aged 27–41 years old.This study enabled us to formulate the following conclusions. Most of the subjects showed a satisfactory level of personal maturity. Parental attitudes of mothers with a satisfactory level of personal maturity show a great desire to suppress aggression in the child. The minority of mothers with high personal maturity showed a lack of authoritarianism in relation to their children; they encourage their children, allowing them to acquire their own experience. Mothers with a low level of personal maturity are overprotective; they suppress the will of a child, try to protect children from difficulties, and deliver an image of a sacrificing mother.