Investigating the relationship between mothers' parenting styles and social skills of Primary school children

Lack of social skills affects interpersonal relationships, personality development and adaptation of the child to the environment. Meanwhile, the mother is a member of the family that plays the most effective role in educating the child. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between motherschr(chr('39')39chr('39')) parenting styles and social skills of primary school pupils in Bushehr (1398).

In this cross-sectional study, 550 mothers of students from 16 public and non-profit primary schools in Bushehr were randomly selected by cluster sampling method. Data were collected using Bamrind Parenting Style Questionnaires and Matson Social Skills Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed with the help of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics tests of univariate and multivariate regression analysis at a significance level below 0.05.

The results showed that among the three parenting styles, authoritative parenting style had a direct and significant relationship with social skills (P = 0.004, β = 0.135). The level of education (the fatherchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s academic degree) had a significant reverse relationship with the childchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s social skills (P = 0.004, β = -0.266).

The results of this study showed that authoritative parenting style, because it is based on maintaining limitations with moderation, interaction and intimacy, leads to appropriate levels of independence and two-way communication between the child and parents. The results of this study can draw the attention of community and family public health planners and implementers to the important role that motherschr(chr('39')39chr('39')) parenting style has in promoting childrenchr(chr('39')39chr('39'))s social skills.