The role of maternal factors in the development of children's behavioral problems: implications in parenting

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of maternal factors (attachment, parenting stress, maternal caregiving quality and parenting practices) in the development of behavioral problems in children.

The study was the type of descriptive research and conducted in the framework of a correlation design. The sample was consisted of 290 mothers of children 3 to 6 years old in Jiroft city that were selected through cluster sampling. Mothers completed a set of questionnaires containing Five Fact Mindfulness questionere (FFMQ), State Adult Attachment Scale (SAAS), preschool & kindergarten behavior Scales, Maternal Caregiving Quality Scale (MCQS), Parenting Scale (PS) and Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF). In order to evaluate the relationships between variables in the proposed model, structural equation modeling was used.

The results indicated that the final model has a good fit after eliminating nonsignificant pathway of parenting practices to the child's behavioral problems. Thus, maternal factors could explain 51% of the variance of child behavioral problems.

The results support the role of maternal factors in the development of children's behavioral problems. The implications of findings of final model in parenting training discussed in detail