The Effectiveness of Raising a Thinking Child Workshop on Parenting Styles and Behavioral Problems of Preschool Children

An appropriate parent-child relationship is one of the most influencing and significant factors in child development and peoples mental health in every society. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effectiveness of raising a thinking child workshop on parenting styles and preschoolers’ behavioral problems. Present research was a quasi-experimental study with one-group pretest-posttest design. The sample consisted of 44 parents of preschool and elementary school students who studies in non-profit schools of Tehran City that were selected using convenience sampling method. Following a call by school officials، these parents voluntarily participated in the “Raising a Thinking Child Workshop”. These parents received a nine-session training program (1/wk، 2hrs). Data were collected using Parenting Style Scale (PSS) and Behavioral Problems Inventory. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures and paired sample t-test. The results of Parenting Style Scale showed that the intervention significantly increased effective parenting styles، with the most influence on authoritative parenting style. However، results indicated no significant difference between the students’ behavioral problems. The possible reasons for the lack of effectiveness of training on children''s behavioral problems can be attributed to a short duration has elapsed since training. This means that the effect of family education after a long time will be revealed so that members can use the opportunity to benefit from training in family environment.