THE STUDY OF VARIATIONS OF PARENTING STYLES

The current study investigated parenting styles with respect to various demographics. The study sample was made up of 235 preschoolers aged 48-72 months attending to 2 state-funded preschools in İstanbul. Demographics Form and Parenting Attitude Scale were used for the data collection. The scale was completed by the parents. Independent sample t-test was used for the data with a normal distribution. The results showed that parenting styles did not differ by child gender, the number of siblings, maternal age, education and working status, and paternal age and working status. The results also indicated that parents tend to be more protective and permissive towards their first-born children and that the fathers younger than 35-years-old had a more democratic style compared to the fathers who were 36 and older. Longer preschool attendance was associated with less overprotective and less democratic parenting attitudes