Self-concept and self-esteem are one of the concepts that have an important place in the self-psychology and social psychology literature. It is possible to talk about many factors that affect and are affected by the self-esteem levels of individuals, especially upbringing, socio-economic level, parental attitudes, physical health, school success and friendship relations.
Self is within the developmental processes of all people. It is an organized network of thoughts, feelings and behaviors developed as a result of interactions and experiences with parents and other people.
Self-esteem; It arises as a result of the natural feelings that the child creates about himself depending on his own values, abilities and achievements. The child's self-image first develops within the family. Children are greatly influenced by their parents' feelings and perceptions of them. The development of self-esteem depends on the attention and appropriate reflective relationship that the mother or mother substitute shows to the child. Children are greatly influenced by their parents' feelings and perceptions of them. The respect and positive emotional interaction of others develops self-love. In this way, emotional selfhood and sovereignty are formed.
The most important variable that has a significant impact on the development of the individual is the attitudes of parents towards their children. When a child is born, the first people he interacts with are family members and especially his parents. This interaction continues throughout the child's life. Parental influence has an important place and value in the formation of the child's personality structure. A child who grows up in a harmonious and free family and in consistent and healthy relationships can reach adult life as an autonomous individual. The need for autonomy relates to a person's feeling that he or she can decide on his or her own behalf, rather than feeling that his or her actions are controlled or forced to take those actions. Family is the social environment that has the most important impact on healthy development. The most important step of this process is the internalization of values and beliefs within the family with the support and contribution of parents. During adolescence, the positive relationships that parents establish with their children; teenagers, good It is stated that it is effective on the levels of being, self-esteem, adaptation skills and autonomous-self development, social skills and adaptation to the environment. However, many research findings reveal that children who grow up in family environments where parental communication and participation are at a high level exhibit positive behaviors and have an advantage in personality development.
Nowadays, many factors affecting self-esteem are being investigated. High levels of self-esteem are associated with factors such as positive communication with family, a sense of control over one's own life, a moderate willingness to take risks, and feeling that one is an influential person. The lowest level of self-esteem is mostly related to factors such as parental pressure. Parental attitude; It is the type of interaction between mother, father and child. There are many factors that affect parental attitudes towards the child, among these factors; parents' expectations, society's value judgments, readiness to become a mother and father, mother and father's own childhood experiences, the relationship between mother and father, number of children, etc. countable. Among the studies aimed at distinguishing different parental attitudes, three styles put forward by Baumrind (1966) called "authoritarian", "explanatory/authoritarian" and "permissive" have been widely accepted. While the child's interest and interest is low, the control over the child is very high. Authoritarian parents show their love conditionally, as long as the child behaves as they want. They use love as a reinforcer. The desired behaviors are mostly behaviors that comply with the rules determined by tradition and higher authorities. Parents show themselves in social sees him as the representative of authority. He expects absolute obedience. The child's behavior is evaluated with strict standards, the right to make mistakes and mistakes is not recognized. Pressure and strict discipline make it difficult for the child to accept himself, and disharmony occurs. The child reflects the negative attitudes he sees in his parents at home, in his interactions with other adults and peers. Research conducted with young people growing up in this type of families shows that they have difficulties in making decisions and expressing their thoughts, and they have difficulties in anger regulation. It was found to be high. (Yavuzer, 2005)
While explanatory/authoritarian parents control their children without being restrictive or prohibitive, they also accept them as individuals and show them love and attention. Verbal communication channels are open between parent and child. Children growing up with this attitude generally have social competence, skills, helpfulness, independence, being able to express their opinions freely, being friendly, sensitive to other people's needs, respectful of themselves and other people, self-confidence and social responsibility. (Sprinthall and Collins as cited in Tunç and Tezer 2012)
They state that the explanatory/authoritarian child-rearing style is associated with "healthy" and "normal" behaviors in children. Research on this subject shows that, in general, children who perceive their parents as explanatory/authoritarian have the highest scores in psychosocial competence and maturity measurements, compared to other styles; It shows that they have the lowest scores in psychological and behavioral disorders.
Permissive/pampering parents are parents who are very involved with their children, that is, responsive, but demand little from them and control them little. Permissive/neglectful parents, on the other hand, are neither demanding nor responsive. Parents with this style do not make any effort to accept their children as individuals, show them love and attention, and mature as individuals.
The common finding of all these studies is that parents who encourage autonomy and psychological maturity in their children, maintain two-way communication, combine control with compassion and acceptance, that is, have explanatory/authoritarian child-rearing styles, have a holistic positive self-image and a more positive self-image in their children. It can be said that it supports the development of high self-worth and self-esteem. (Tunç, 2012)
In conclusion, in the light of all these findings, it can be said that the authoritarian style's lack of acceptance and interest negatively affects the child's self-esteem. While the existence of a positive relationship between the explanatory/authoritarian style and self-esteem has become clear, it seems that there is a need for studies to examine the relationships of other styles with self-esteem.
References
Yavuzer H. (2005) Knowing and Understanding the Child
Tunç, A. Tezer, E. (2012) The Relationship Between Child Raising Styles and Self-Esteem, Turkish Journal of Psychological Counseling and Guidance (2012) Volume 3, Issue 25
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