Parental Stress and Attitudes of Children’s Mothers Aged 0 to 10 Years

Abstract

The main research question posed in this paper is: Does parental stress correlate with parental attitudes in mothers of children aged 0 to 10 years? The research objective derived from this question was to analyse the extent to which parental stress correlates with maternal parental attitudes. The study included 60 women aged between 20 and 40 years who are mothers of children aged between 0 and 10 years. The following tools were used for the research: the Parental Attitude Scale (PAS) and the Parenting Stress Index, 4^th edition (PSI-4). The following hypothesis was formulated: There is a relationship between the level of perceived parental stress and maternal parental attitudes. The results of the conducted research confirmed the hypothesis. The analysis showed that all determinants of parental attitudes, such as acceptance, demand, autonomy, inconsistency, and protection, correlated with parental stress. Mothers who experienced higher levels of stress tended to exhibit inappropriate attitudes towards their children. They were more inclined to adopt a rejecting attitude towards their children, often displaying exaggerated expectations and demands or excessive protection. Women also had greater difficulty respecting the autonomy of their children and showed a tendency towards inconsistency.