Parental Behaviors Through the Eyes of Parents and Their Children: Perceptual Differences and Relationships

Author : Ali Cekic

Abstract : The primary significance of this research lies in its reliance on triad data collected directly from members of the same family: mothers, fathers, and their elementary school children. This study aimed to examine the relationships between mothers', fathers', and children's perceptions of parental behaviors and to compare the self-reported parental attitudes of mothers and fathers. The data were gathered using the parent and child forms of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), administered to mothers and fathers regarding the same child, and to their elementary school children regarding their parents. According to the analysis results, the highest correlation between mother and child perceptions within the same subscale was in "Corporal Punishment" (r=.304, p<.001), while the lowest was in "Inconsistent Discipline" (r=.125, p<.001). For father and child perceptions, the highest correlation within the same subscale was found in "Parental Involvement" (r=.334, p<.001), and the lowest was in "Inconsistent Discipline" (r=.008, p>.05). Overall, correlations between parent and child perceptions remained at low levels. Independent samples -test comparisons of mothers’ and fathers’ parental score averages revealed that "Parental Involvement" (t=8.701, p<.001) and "Positive Parenting" (t=3.211, p<.01) scores were significantly higher for mothers. Conversely, "Poor Monitoring" scores were significantly higher for fathers (t=-3.512, p<.001). No significant differences were observed for "Inconsistent Discipline" and "Corporal Punishment" (p<.05). These findings from identical family units highlight perceptual discrepancies between parents and children as well as role differentiation between mothers and fathers, providing valuable insights for family-oriented intervention programs.

Keywords : Parental Attitudes, Parent-Child Perception, Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, Elementary School Period

Conference Name : International Conference on Disaster Resilience and Community Development (ICDRCD - 26)

Conference Place : Bruges, Belgium

Conference Date : 28th Aug 2026