Relationship Between Parenting Satisfaction and Parenting Styles of Working Mothers in a University in Malaysia

Abstract

The trend of working mothers is not uncommon anymore, starting from a desire to improve the economic status of the families to the desire for self-actualization, combined with the increasing number of women with higher education. Malaysian women comprise 50% of the work force, and 70% of them are married working women (Sabil & Marican, 2010). Mother and child interaction is very important for the development of the child. Each of the working mothers' parenting style chosen must be appropriate for their children, in accordance with the dual responsibilities or roles that she is juggling with. A working mother who is not able to guide and give full attention to their children might have a negative impact on the child's developmental outcomes. Thus, this study aimed to look at the relationship between parenting satisfaction and parenting style of working mothers. This study was conducted with 62 working mothers in Sultan Idris Education University who work for an average of 15-32 hours per week. They were 22-40 years old with children under 15 years old. These mothers completed the Parenting Satisfaction Scale (PSS) as a measure of parenting satisfaction and the Parenting Style Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) to measure their parenting styles. The results of this study indicated that the working mothers tended to adopt the authoritative parenting style in their parenting practice, and the majority reported moderate level of parenting satisfaction. The results also showed there were differential relationships between parenting style and parenting satisfaction in the working mothers.

Parenting style in the context of the conflict between parental and business roles

“…The results are in line with the research by Matejevic, Todorovic and Jovanovic (2014) who, also on a sample of parents from Serbia, show that the authoritative parenting style is the dominant parenting style in the families of the students examined. The results are in line with research in other countries, as well (Waylen and Stewart-Brown, 2010;Yusuf and Sim, 2017). Also, the researches (Todorovic, Matejevic and Simic, 2012) showed that all sub-dimensions of the authoritative style of upbringing (connection, regulation, autonomy granting) positively contribute to family communication and family satisfaction as a whole.…”

Parenting stress and coping strategies adopted among working and non-working mothers and its association with socio-demographic variables: A cross-sectional study

“…This dual responsibility intensifies the stress with respect to child care and rearing in working mothers. [6][7][8][9][10] Women who are full time home makers may also find it difficult to manage home and children. It is often perceived that non-working mothers have a relaxed life but the fact is that even non-working mothers have an equally vigorous routine as working mothers.…”

Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire — Adaptação da Versão Portuguesa de Heterorrelato

“…Por outro lado, as práticas parentais referem-se a condutas específicas com o propósito de socialização que procuram, apenas, reforçar os comportamentos percebidos como adequados e reprimir os inadequados (Baumrind, 1991;Yusuf & Sim, 2016). Desta forma, verifica-se que, enquanto o estilo parental utilizado transmite uma disposição afetiva em face da criança mediante a qualidade da atenção, o tom de voz empregue e as respostas emocionais evidenciadas, as práticas parentais comunicam, apenas, a forma como se pretende que esta se comporte (Baumrind, 1991).…”

“…Dentre as distintas abordagens e conceptualizações, propostas no âmbito dos estilos parentais, relatadas na literatura, a tipologia formulada por Baumrind (1991) parece ser a que reúne mais consenso na comunidade científica (Pedro et al, 2015;Yusuf & Sim, 2016). A abordagem tipológica definida por esta autora, a partir dos resultados obtidos nas suas investigações, sugere que o construto geral dos estilos parentais se organiza em torno de três fatores gerais: o democrático, definido como mais adaptativo e equilibrado; autoritário e permissivo, que caracterizam dois extremos de disfuncionalidade.…”

“…Esta questão coloca-se na medida em que poderá existir uma maior ou menor predominância de determinadas atitudes e condutas que, num ambiente emocional, poderão traduzir um estilo parental mais ou menos adaptativo (Baumrind, 1991;Yusuf & Sim, 2016).…”