The Effect of Choice Theory Training to Parents on the Aggression of Their Children in Elementary School

One of the most common problems of primary school children is aggression which has a direct relationship with parental attitudes and parenting styles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of choice theory education to mothers on aggression of their children in elementary school. The present study was a semi-experimental and design used in the research, pre-test - posttest with the control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all mothers of elementary school students who were studying in the Hamedan district in the academic year of 96-95. After three months of students' behavioral observation and interviews with teachers, a sample of 30 mothers was selected using purposeful sampling. Subjects were then randomly assigned into two groups of 15 subjects. The instrument used in this study was the parent form of the children aggression questionnaire (Vahedi, Fathi A'zar, Hosseini Nsab, and Moghaddam 20). The data were analyzed by SPSS software and multivariate covariance statistical test. The findings of this study showed that the choice theory education to mothers affects their children's aggression (P <0.01), so that the verbal, physical, and the relational aggression in the experimental group significantly decreased in the experimental group, but no significant changes were observed in the control group. According to the findings of this study, it can be concluded that the training of choice theory due to the motivational nature, change of beliefs, thoughts and attitudes of parents has led to decreasing aggression in children.