ARGENTINIAN PARENTS' BELIEFS REGARDING SOCIAL WITHDRAWAL IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

GRECO, CAROLINA; CASTILLO, KAREN; ISON, MIRTA SUSANA

Rhodas

Congreso; 26th Biennial Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD); 2022

International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD)

Parents' beliefs, meaning their ideas, knowledge, values, and attributions, are essential in the study of relationships between parents and children. They are cognitive and affective processes that influence strategies to promote acceptable social behaviours or to modify those evaluated as undesirable (Bornstein & Cheah, 2006; Bornstein et al., 2018; Castillo, 2021).This study drew on the contributions of motivational approaches to social withdrawal within the framework of the Transactional-Developmental Model (Coplan & Rubin, 2010; Rubin & Asendorpf, 1993), the Bioecological Model of Human Development (Bronfenbrenner, 1987), and the description of beliefs and attributions proposed by Bornstein (2015), who classifies them as internal or intentional and external or situational. The AIMS of this study were:(1) to probe into parents’ causal attributions for social withdrawal behaviours.(2) to get to know the strategies for action implemented by parents in the face of social withdrawal behaviours by their children. METHODDesign: Qualitative research methodology. Grounded Theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and case study (Stake, 1999).Sample: Parents of five four-year-old children (three girls and two boys) attending the initial level of education at two state educational institutions of the province of Mendoza, Argentina. Research Tools: Focal interview: a kind of in-depth interview that is circumscribed to a focus of interest (Ruiz Olabuénaga & Ispizua, 1989).Procedure and Ethical Considerations: Both the previous permission of school authorities and the formal consent of the children’s parents or tutors were requested. Data analysis: Data analysis was carried out following the guidelines of the Grounded Theory and its Constant Comparative Method strategy (Strauss & Corbin, 2002). Reliability and validity were assessed by means of cross-checking. There was 95% agreement in the categories that emerged from discourse. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONSThree main categories emerged as causes of the social withdrawal behaviour 1) Internal causal attributions2) External causal attributions3) Causal attributions of the cognitive or socioemotional developmentThe action strategies performed by parents were: 1)Socialization strategies2)Strategies compatible with excessively controlling and overprotective parenting guidelines3)Strategies verbalised by parents to their child about their child’s social withdrawal behavioursPractical ImplicationsTo raise awareness in families about the important function they perform in the socialization and emotional regulation of their pre-school age children.To generate a family environment that promotes courage and confidence, on the basis of a patient, sensitive, loving manner that invites fluid, honest, open communication and may stand as a model for future social interactions between children and their peers. To create social interaction occasions with peers that should not be overwhelming to the child and support those processes without interventions in the form of overprotection or control.To work with families and child and teenage health providers in the framework of the promotion of child mental health for a healthy socioemotional development that leads to socialization, adaptation to primary education and welfare, through safe bonds of attachment. Intervention strategies should be adjusted to the contexts of reference children belong to. Knowing what parents believe, think, and feel about their children facilitates the design of adequate interventions in the mentioned contexts and fosters interventions that are respectful of individual and contextual features.