Investigating and Discovering the Affecting Factors in Positive Parent-Child Interactions: A Qualitative Study

Positive parent-child interactions promote children's social, cognitive, and emotional skills development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting parent-child interactions.

The present study was conducted with a qualitative method and inductive approach. Participants were parents (15 people) and specialists (3 people) in Isfahan who were selected by purposive sampling method according to the inclusion criteria. Individuals' experiences were assessed using a semi-structured interview tool. Data were saturated with 18 interviews and coded and analyzed by Atridesterling (2001) thematic analysis method.

In the first stage of coding, 79 basic themes were extracted from the interviews. In the second stage, based on the maximum consistency of the obtained concepts were abstracted 15 organizing themes. In the third stage, 4 themes including positive parenting; authoritative parenting; resilience; environmental diversity were identified as comprehensive themes related to the effective factors in positive parent-child interactions. Data validation was performed by the participants' feedback and independent coders methods. Also, in order to validate the topics, a group of experts (3experts) was used and the criteria for determining the accuracy and robustness of the data were reviewed and approved.

The results show that parents' awareness of parenting practices, how to use positive coping strategies, and enrich children by increasing environmental attractiveness, are important and effective factors in improving parent-child interactions. Therefore, it is suggested that these factors be considered in the development of special education programs for parents and children.