Introduction Show
The correlation between initial test and retest scores was significant (P= 0.001). The normality of quantitative data distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test in SPSS v. 21. The data were described by descriptive statistics (mean and Standard Deviation) and analyzed using the correlation test (Enter method), analysis of variance, and linear regression analysis, considering 0.05 as the significant level. Results The study participants included 64 girls (50%) and 64 boys (64; 50%). The educational level of children’s fathers and mothers mainly was diploma (n=62, 48.4% for fathers; n=61, 47.7% for mothers), and the lowest frequency was related to the Master’s degree (n=8, 6.3% for fathers; n=3, 2.3% for mothers). As shown in Table 2, the mean total scores for the variables of parenting styles, moral development, and attachment were high.
The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test results showed that data were normally distributed according to skewness and kurtosis values (Table 3).
The results of regression analysis (Table 4) showed the significant relationship of parenting styles with moral development (R=0.74, Adjusted R2=0.54, P=0.000) and the relationship of attachment with moral development (R=0.71, Adjusted R2=0.49, P=0.000).
Parenting methods, intimate upbringing, and discussion of moral issues help children understand morality. Children whose parents listen to them wholeheartedly ask enlightening questions, confront high-level reasoning, and make great strides in moral development. In contrast, children whose parents use threats or harsh statements change little or stop at the early stages of moral development. According to the results in Table 5, with one unit change in permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative parenting styles, the moral development of preschool children can be predicted by 43.5%, 19%, and 37.6%, respectively.
Moreover, with one unit change in positive adjustment/development, negative behavior, emotional reactivity, and distancing from caregiver support dimensions of attachment, the moral development of preschool children can be predicted by 33.6%, 38.4%, -26.4%, and -11.4%, respectively. Children with authoritative parents are more psychologically and socially competent than their peers with authoritarian or permissive parents. These children are responsible, adaptive, creative, curious, and confident. According to psychologists, the authoritative parenting style is the most efficient method; children of authoritative parents have more social skills and self-esteem than those of authoritarian or permissive parents. According to the results of the Sobel test in Table 6, it was found that the variable of attachment styles is a mediating variable.
The z value was 2.96, greater than 1.96, indicating the effect of children’s attachment on the relationship between parenting styles and moral development. Discussion and Conclusion This study aimed to determine the mediating role of preschool children’s attachment in the relationship between parenting styles and moral development. The level of authoritarian parenting style was different according to gender, whereas women’s attitudes toward this style were higher. Distancing from caregiver support as one of the attachment components was different in terms of gender, where the girls had higher scores. The mean scores of parenting style, attachment, and moral development were also different in terms of parents’ education, but it was not statistically significant. The moral development of children had a significant positive relationship with permissive, authoritarian, and authoritative parenting styles (P=0.001). This finding is consistent with the results of Rahbar and Salaripour [17], Babajanzadeh and Otaghsara [19], Morvati et al. [23]. Zokaei’s study found no significant relationship between authoritarian parenting style and social development [18]. In our study, there was also a significant relationship between children’s moral development and attachment. This result is consistent with the results of Shahri [24], Pour Movadat [25], and Safaee [26]. In Septani et al.’s study, a family with four children was selected, and its authoritative parenting method and secure attachment were assessed. In contrast, in our study, 128 children and their mothers participated, and the children’s attachment was measured as a mediating variable. The results regarding the mediating role of children’s attachment in the relationship between parenting styles and moral development were consistent with the results of Ghorbani [27] and Peymannia [28]. When parents are consistent in their parenting styles, they provide their children with assertive and trusting behaviors; they listen to their children and promote dialogue with them. Their discipline is accompanied by warmness, logic, and flexibility, and they give their children freedom to some extent. This treatment helps children develop their social behavior [17]. Authoritarian style is an inefficient method that can cause various emotional, moral, and behavioral problems in children [15]. However, children of authoritative parents show positive social behaviors such as cooperation, love, empathy, etc. A healthy parenting style can predict children’s social and moral characteristics [3]. Parents are the source of children’s social experiences due to their emotional dependence on them, which ultimately leads to the formation of moral values during childhood and adulthood. The formation of secure attachment seems to be the basis of a healthy moral orientation. Secure attachment develops in childhood when parents respond to the children’s needs. The children can explore the environment with a sense of security and confidence to confront challenges. According to attachment theory, the initial interaction of a child with a caregiver takes the form of internal beliefs. The effects of attachment in childhood extend to adulthood in the areas of moral development and close relationships. This study had some limitations, including the lack of similar studies in Iran and other countries, a high number of questions that made children tired, and the lack of cooperation of some mothers in completing questionnaires. Parents use various parenting styles in dealing with their children, but the predominant style is the permissive style. In addition to the direct effect, children’s attachment is indirectly related to their moral development. Moral development is formed in the safe context of the family and during the communication and emotional interaction of parents with children; thus, children direct their behaviors accordingly. Insecure, avoidant, and ambivalent people are underprivileged due to deviation from the main path of the attachment system. The results of this study can provide important information to parents, teachers, and educators. If parents pay attention to their children’s needs with more kindness and sensitiveness, the children’s attachment can be more secure. Since secure attachment develops in childhood, the moral development of adolescents and youth depends on their attachment in childhood. For parents who raise their children with permissive and authoritative styles, teaching parenting skills and familiarity with parenting techniques can help them promote their children’s moral development. They should be reminded that the child’s psychological and cultural personality is established before the age of 6 when the child spends more time in the family.
Ethical Considerations Funding Authors' contributions Conflict of interest Acknowledgments References
What is the most important influence on a child's moral development?Perhaps the single most powerful parental influence on children's moral development is induction. Explaining parental behavior and its implications for the child and others is linked to greater empathy, more highly developed conscience, higher levels of moral reasoning, and altruism.
What predicts moral development in children?The development of conscience, i.e., the development of self-regulatory processes that promote moral thought, emotion, and behavior, is a major contributor to children's moral development.
How can parents foster moral development?Developing a moral future
encourage sharing between your child and others. emphasise similarities between groups, not differences. read children stories with a diverse range of human and non-human main characters. explain why something is wrong, rather than just stating it's wrong.
How can I help my child with moral development?Parents can help children develop a moral code by discussing ethical dilemmas and talking about feelings. Setting clear boundaries, expectations, and consequences for moral behavior can help preschoolers clarify values.
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