RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PARENTING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF PARENTS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Abstract

Most research has abandoned the attempt to establish direct associations between parenting beliefs and practices. In the present study, these relationships were assessed in a sample of 275 parents with young children. The selected instruments were specifically designed for measur-ing parenting beliefs or practices. Differences were found for parents’ gender and children’s sex. More beliefs-practices correlations were found for mothers. Beliefs-practices correlations were more similar between mothers and fathers of girls, than for those with boys. Main beliefs for mothers were: communication, parental support, role orientation, limit setting, and autonomy, and these beliefs were mainly related with disci-pline and nurturing practices. Main beliefs for fathers were: limit setting, role orientation, and parental support, and they were mainly related with discipline practices. The authors highlight the possible meanings of differ-ent relationships between parenting beliefs and practices, and argue for the inclusion of both parenting beliefs and practices in parenting research studies.