Abstract
Much work shows a correlation between parenting styles and child development as they transition into adulthood. This research investigates the parenting and attachment styles of children aged 5-8 and their social behavior and communication ability. The proposed research will include 60 parents with children aged 5-8 years. Data collection will cover three different schools to eliminate bias. The study will utilize the adult attachment and parenting style questionnaires to measure participants’ parenting and attachment styles. After the determination of parenting style, children will undergo a room experiment. Firstly, children will occupy a room filled with toys and cookies. Secondly, kids will occupy the same room as their parents. Lastly, the kids will occupy the same room with a kid from another school. Toddlers’ behavior would be evaluated for comparison with parenting styles.
Effects of Parenting Styles on Child Development: The Relationship between Parental Patterns, Child Attachment and Social Behaviour of Children.
Introduction
Parents are the first teachers everyone gets when ushered into the world through birth. Primarily, they act as teachers, counselors, guidance, and protectors of the children (Doinita & Maria 2015). The mother is the most primal individual between both parents in a perfect setup. Reducing the connection between a mother and a child is considered separation individualization (Görgü & Ural, 2015). Relationships and interactions at this early stage affect how prospective individuals interact and create meaningful relationships later in life (Hong & Park, 2012). After birth, the child automatically enters a process that initiates adaptation into a broader social environment based on the interaction between them and their caregivers. Children cannot use their language ability to express their feelings and speak out what they need from infancy. A guardian should study the behavior patterns of small children and accord appropriate attention. Through this process, children develop long-lasting attachments that affect how they relate with people later in life.
One theory to explain the caregiver and child attachment is the Bowlby theory. According to John Bowlby, infants are quickly attached to caregivers because caregivers give them security and safety (Hong & Park, 2012). This highly evolutionary theory emphasizes that children only attach to people; they can quickly get what they need to survive. This ultimately means that when the child receives dependence through development, they steer away from their caregivers and only use them as a basis for their operations. Other studies have countered Bowlby’s theories. It has been discovered that infants’ attachment to their parents lasts a lifetime. People who have grown to become adults still seek parental approval, guidance, and acceptance, almost as if it is a primal need for their existence.
Parenting patterns denote specific behaviors that a parent or caregiver chooses to follow when offering childcare, education, and raising the kids (Görgü & Ural, 2015). It is simultaneous to the attachment patterns a child chooses to exhibit. Different parents possess different parenting styles. These parenting patterns affect the attachment behavior of kids and can last a lifetime. There are four typical parenting styles: authoritarian, authoritative, indifferent, and permissive. Authoritative parenting is the most preferred parenting style. It is characterized by balanced enforcing discipline, need for affection, and dependence at the right time (Doinita & Maria, 2015). Parents can strike a balance in all the needs of a child. Authoritarian parenting creates a warm relationship between children and their caregivers, leading kids to grow up self-reliant, self-controlled, and flexible.
Authoritarian parenting is by far the extreme parenting style as it leads to adults who have low self-confidence, low self-dependence, and are very rigid in their reasoning. It is characterized by the lack of attachment between children and their caregivers. Children typically have an irrational fear of their caregivers and only make moves they are sure will please them and make them stay out of trouble (Doinita & Maria, 2015). The other category of parenting style is permissive parenting. This parenting type leads children to be spoilt, self-centered, and without self-control (Doinita & Maria, 2015). These traits develop when parents fail to place appropriate measures when kids display abhorrent behavior. Studies have shown that children misbehaving are bored and seek attention (Attili, Vermigli & Roazzi, 2011). When parents respond to their behavior by giving what they asked for, there is a likelihood of a pattern developing that will play a part in their adult life. The kids stay attached to their parents, although their social behavior becomes compromised. The last category of parenting is indifferent parenting. It is characterized by the lack of attempt to provide children affection, warmth, and discipline. It results in children being addicts, socially withdrawn, and lacking social skills (Doinita & Maria, 2015). This study investigates how parenting styles affect attachment and social behavior to increase the current knowledge pool.
A study has shown that warm, receptive parenting correlates positively with positive outcomes such as good relationships and a sense of security once kids grow up (Görgü & Ural, 2015). Research has also shown that if a child feels more valuable and loved by their caregivers in early development, they are more likely to be competent and confident in their coming years. Görgü and Ural (2015) explored the attachment of 5-6-year-old kids in Istanbul. The study proved that mothers of highly insecure children had higher introversion scores than mothers of secure children. Equally, the mothers of insecure children had a high realism score compared to secure children’s mothers. They also exercised high control over what and how their children did things.
To test John Bowlby’s attachment theory into a test, a psychologist, Ainsworth, studied both children and their parents (Hong & Park, 2012). In this study, kids were put in a set room full of toys and were set up to see what the children would do once their parents left the room. During an observation, it was determined that a larger portion of the children had a secure attachment. This large group of kids that fell under the secure category could play comfortably when their parents were in the room. When the parents left the room, they were noticeably upset, only to calm down upon their return. A smaller portion of the children was never upset and played better in their absence. The second group of kids was labeled to have ambivalent resistant attachment behaviors. Another smaller portion of the last bunch protested when their parents left the room. Ainsworth concluded a basis for the different results obtained while investigating child and parent relationships in John Bowlby’s attachment theory. Although infants depended on their caregivers for their basic needs, there was no proof that attachment depended on their primal need to feed, stay alive, and be healthy.
In a separate study of children in an orphanage, it was observed that children require emotional support for their physical needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter. Ainsworth closely observed how mothers responded to children’s needs at home. The first category of mothers was termed as responsive mothers. They were characterized by being more aware of their children’s needs and, therefore, more responsive to needs. When interacting with their kids, these mothers integrated care patterns such as cuddling, touching, eye contact, and praise. They also gave kids enough space for their movement. This kind of longitudinal parenting is likely to bring more secure children. On the other hand, a lack of responsive parenting can lead to poor social and communication skills once children have grown up (Hong & Park, 2012). Child insecurities could easily lead to anxiety and potential future disorders. In a nutshell, bad parenting patterns can lead to children growing up to be dismissive, preoccupied, and unresolved due to avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment (Doinita & Maria, 2015).
Research Questions
- Do parenting patterns affect the attachment styles of children?
- Does attachment styles affect the social development of children?
- Does parental attachment correlate with kids’ communication patterns?
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Variables
- Attachment Pattern
It will involve investigating how children respond to parenting patterns. For instance, what category of parents produces more socially secure children?
- Social Behaviour
It will investigate how attachment patterns affect children’s behavior in a social environment. Can the kids interact freely in the absence and presence of an adult, or do they portray a reserved demeanor?
- Communication Patterns
It will involve an investigation of the ability of kids to initiate a conversation with fellow kids and parents.
Materials and Methods
The experiment will comprise 60 parents with children aged 5-8 years old. The parents will come from three different schools to eliminate bias. Parents will fill in two sets of questionnaires to test for parenting patterns. These questionnaires include the adult attachment and parental style questionnaires (Fransson, 2014). The first questionnaire will test for parenting styles. It has four questions linked with parental styles and awards scores on a scale of 1-7. The different parenting styles, namely authoritarianism, authoritative, permissive, and indifferent, will fall on a scale.
In the second part of the study, a room will be set up with toys and goodies. The instruction will allow them to play with toys and consume some delicacies. First, kids will enter the room with their parents present. The study would document kids’ reactions to their parents’ presence. Will the parents be controlling the overconsumption of the confectionaries and playing with the toys? In the third segment, two kids will access the same room. The criteria are that they must not know each other. The initiator of the first contact would be noted, as well as the subsequent reaction from the other child. How efficient will the process of eating and playing with toys? Will they shy away?
In a third segment, the kids will remain in the room alone, and their behavior will be recorded. Lastly, all the kids will move to the playground in bunches, and their reaction towards each other noted. The study will also not how children behave in a more communal set up in both absence and presence of the parents.
At the end of the study, we would love to ascertain that parenting style affects how children develop attachment patterns. The results will also be able to contend with other studies that found that the attachment pattern ultimately affects children’s sociability.
Discussion
Expected Results
From reviewing the literature, our expected results would be as follows for the kids whose parents are authoritarian. They are expected to play with the toys only after the parents give the go-ahead. Due to low self-esteem, they may find it challenging to start a conversation with another kid. If they are alone, we still expect to observe the reservation.
We expect to see discipline without fear for the kids whose parents are authoritative. They will not shy from playing with the toys and eating the candy but will do so in an organized manner. When with parents, they will ask if they can play or eat some of the goodies. When alone with a fellow kid, we expect them to start a conversation and be more sensitive towards the other kids’ needs.
For the kids who have permissive parents, we expect to have a diversion from the norm. The children will be touchy and lack patience. Most importantly, the parent is likely to lose control of them. When with other kids, we expect them to be domineering, taking the best toys for themselves and acting as if they are in charge.
For the kids with indifferent parents, we expect to see the lack of warmth between the parent and the kid. The kid will be able to go around eating and playing, but unlike the permissive parented kids, they will exhibit antisocial behaviors similar to kids with authoritarian parents.
References
Doinita, N. E., & Maria, N. D. (2015). Attachment and parenting styles. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 203, 199-204.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.08.282
Attili, G., Vermigli, P., & Roazzi, A. (2011). Rearing styles, parents’ attachment mental state, and children’s social abilities: The link to peer acceptance. Child Development Research, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/267186
Görgü, E., & Ural, O. (2015). A Study on the Relationship between Attachment Styles of School Children Aged 5–6 and Personality Traits of Their Mothers. https://dx.doi.org/10.15520/sslej.V2i07.32
Hong, Y. R., & Park, J. S. (2012). Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development. Korean Journal of pediatrics, 55(12), 449. https://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2012.55.12.449
Fransson, M. (2014). Attachment and the development of personality and social functioning (Doctoral dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis).
