Methodological Establishment of the Research on the Exploration of Parenting Styles in Families Rearing Children Between 0-7 Years

Abstract

During the socialization process, educational influences on the child determine their personality development fundamentally, so getting to know the educational practices of parents’ is one of the central issues in educational science. The aims of our study, focusing on the parenting styles of parents raising children aged 0-7 living in Hungary, were: (1) to refine a quantitative research tool, (2) combine it with a qualitative tool and (3) to relate the results of two studies carried out with different methodologies. Prior to the questionnaire survey, as part of this research focus group interviews occurred, in which a total of 93 parents attended. The recorded opinions from the focus group interviews provided an opportunity to explore deeper connections. During the questionnaire data collection, a total of 980 parents were included in the study after representative sampling for type of settlement and age group. To explore their parenting style the modified version of the Child-rearing Practices Report (CRPR) was applied. After learning about the scale characteristics of parenting style, our attention was directed to the main characteristics of parenting style and the differentiating factors of parenting practice. Among the parents involved in the research caring, flexible child-rearing attitudes and practices were pronounced.