Psychological well-being of parents and (non) adaptive functioning of preschool children

Turkalj, Anita. (2014). Psychological well-being of parents and (non) adaptive functioning of preschool children. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Psychology. [mentor Kuterovac Jagodić, Gordana].

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Abstract

First aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of internalized and externalized problems in the population of preschool children of different ages and sexes. The information concerning the prevalence of these two types of problems was acquired via mothers and caregivers - two groups of people that the children interacted with on a daily basis. The second aim was to examine the ways in which children's internalized and externalized behaviors were associated with the dimensions of maternal psychological well-being. The data concerning the children's behavior was collected from 183 mothers of preschool children (M =34 years), and 24 caregivers. The mothers were also asked several questions concerning sociodemographic information and psychological well-being. The following instruments were used: Child-Behavior Checklist for Ages 11⁄2 -5 and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form, Ryff scales of psychological well-being and general information questionnaire for parents. The results show that mothers do not perceive any gender differences in levels of problems in preschool children, while caregivers observed sex differences in the occurrence of externalized problems. According to caregivers, boys manifest significantly more symptoms. Age differences exist in almost all scales of CBCL and C - TRF. Mothers of younger children report significantly more problems on the externalized and overall scales. Furthermore, caregivers report significantly more problems on all scales for younger children. There is a positive, moderate correlation between the data acquired from the mothers and the caregivers. Mothers reported significantly more problems in relation to caregivers. Concerning the connection between maternal psychological well-being and child's behavior, a negative correlation was observed for the dimensions Purpose in life, Environmental mastery and Positive relations with others. Mother's psychological well-being shows a slight but significant contribution to the children's adaptive functioning.

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