Parent’s Attitudes as a Predictor of Preschoolers’ Social Competence and Introverted Behavior

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine if parents’ attitudes predict preschooler’s social competence
and introverted behavior. This study was carried out on parents and teachers of 309 preschoolers aged between
60 and 72 months old. Social Competence and Behavior Assessment-30 Scale, which was developed by
LaFreniere and Dumas (1996) and validated and adapted into Turkish by Çorapçı, Aksan, Arslan-Yalçın and
Yağmurlu (2010), was used to determine pre-schoolers’ social competence and introverted behavior. Parent
Attitude Scale (PAS) developed by Karabulut Demir (2007) was used to determine parents’ attitudes. The
Social Competence and Behavioral Assessment-30 scale was filled in by teachers and Parent Attitude Scale was
filled in by mothers. The results of the study suggest that parents’ attitudes are significant predictors of prescholars’ social competence and introverted behaviors. The results of this study which suggest that parent
behaviors are influential on preschoolers’ social behaviors once more emphasize that family is to be considered
as a part of process so that studies on children can be successful.