The Connection Between Parental Sense of Competence and Support in Early and Preschool Children’s Upbringing / Povezanost doživljaja roditeljske kompetentnosti i podrške u odgoju djece rane i predškolske dobi

Abstract

The perception of parenthood is observed through parental attitudes and beliefs about children and parenting. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between how parents perceive their own parental competencies (parental selfefficacy, parental internal and external locus of control) and social support of close people (friends, family and significant others), according to sex and parental education. The study involved 194 subjects, 148 mothers and 46 fathers. A weak connection was found between parental self-efficacy and social support. Parents who perceive to be more self-effective estimate that they also receive more support from their environment and vice versa. No statistically significant difference was found in the perception of parental competence and the perception of social support with regard to sex, but the difference was found in parental self-efficiency and the external locus of control depending on the level of education. Parents with lower and high school education perceive themselves to be more self-effective in the parental role and have a larger external locus of control, compared to academically educated parents. In conclusion, it is important to recognize parents with low selfefficacy, i.e. lower parental competence, as well as those who estimate that they have little support from their environment, and to direct them to the possibilities of increasing parental competence. Keywords: parental competence; parental self-efficacy, parental internal and external locus of control; mothers; fathers; perceived social support. - Doživljaj roditeljstva promatra se kroz roditeljske stavove i uvjerenja o djeci i roditeljstvu. Cilj je istraživanja ispitati povezanost doživljaja roditeljske kompetentnosti (roditeljska samoefikasnost, roditeljski internalni i eksternalni lokus kontrole) sa socijalnom podrskom bliskih osoba (prijatelji, obitelj i znacajni drugi) s obzirom na spol i stupanj obrazovanja roditelja. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 194 ispitanika, 148 majki i 46 oceva. Utvrđena je slaba povezanost između roditeljske samoefikasnostii socijalne podrske. Roditelji koji sebe doživljavaju samoefikasnijima procjenjuju da i primaju vise podrske iz svoje okoline i obratno. Nije pronađena statisticki znacajna razlika po spolu u doživljaju roditeljske kompetentnosti i percepciji socijalne podrske, no razlika je utvrđena u roditeljskoj samoefikasnosti i roditeljskom eksternalnom lokusu kontrole ovisno o stupnju obrazovanja. Roditelji nižega i srednjega stupnja obrazovanja percipiraju se samoefikasnijim u roditeljskoj ulozi te imaju veci eksternalni lokus kontrole u odnosu na vise i visokoobrazovane roditelje. Zakljucno, važno je prepoznati roditelje s niskom samoefikasnosti, odnosno nižom roditeljskom kompetentnosti, kao i one koji procjenjuju malo podrske iz svoje okoline te ih usmjeriti kako povecati roditeljsku kompetentnost. Kljucne rijeci: majke; ocevi; percipirana socijalna podrska; roditeljski internalni i eksternalni lokus kontrole; roditeljska kompetentnost; roditeljska samoefikasnost.