1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The first objective of the present study was to investigate the factors that promote or hinder the use of autonomy-supportive parenting during preschool. […] The second objective was to examine children’s later socio-emotional outcomes associated with autonomy support during preschool in an at-risk sample.» (p. 11-12)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«It was expected that higher SES [socio-economic status] would be related to more autonomy-supportive behaviours regardless of context. Psychosocial risk, represented by mothers’ mental health, parental stress and satisfaction of social support, and mothers’ childhood histories of risk, represented by the interaction of childhood aggression and social withdrawal, were both expected to be negatively related to the use of autonomy-supportive strategies, and thus more likely to be associated with the use of controlling strategies, especially when mothers were in a challenging situation where they might feel pressure. […] It was expected that autonomy support across contexts during the preschool period would be negatively related to children’s internalizing (e.g. social withdrawal, anxiety and depression) and externalizing problems (e.g. delinquency and aggression; as rated by their mothers; with a stronger relation expected for externalizing problems), as well as being positively related to social competence (i.e. the ability to effectively interact with others; as rated by their teachers), during early to mid-childhood (between 6 and 11 years).» (p. 11-12)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«At Time 1, participants were 100 mothers with their preschool aged children (1-6 years). At Time 2, 78 of the same mothers and children participated when the children were school aged (6-11 years). All participants were drawn from families who participated in the Concordia Longitudinal Risk Project». (p. iii)

Instruments :
- Demographic Information Questionnaire
- Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90)
- Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF)
- Social Support Scale-II (SSS-II)
- Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL)
- Teacher Social Competence Scale (TSC)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results revealed that maternal childhood histories of both aggression and social withdrawal, low SES and high psychosocial risk predicted the use of less autonomy support, thus more control; however, only when in a challenging interference context. Conversely, within the free play context, only high SES was predictive of autonomy support. Furthermore, autonomy support during the challenging interference context at Time 1, predicted less problem behaviour, as well as more social competence at Time 2. Taken together, results indicate the importance of parenting behaviours at an early age for children’s later socio-emotional outcomes. Ultimately, results have implications for the design of preventive interventions addressing vulnerability, and fostering healthy relationships through informing parenting practices.» (p. iii-iv)