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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Developmental Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1444648

The mediating effects of self-concept on the relationship between parenting styles and young children's social problem-solving in Türkiye

Provisionally accepted
Ahmet Ayık Ahmet Ayık 1Türker Sezer Türker Sezer 2*Sinan Koçyiğit Sinan Koçyiğit 1
  • 1 Atatürk University, Erzurum, Erzurum, Türkiye
  • 2 Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Türkiye

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between parenting styles, young children's social problem-solving skills, and the mediating role of self-concept in a sample of 200 Turkish preschoolers aged 48-72 months, with an equal distribution of male and female participants. The present study was designed using a cross-sectional survey model in order to achieve the descriptive and predictive aims of the research. Data were collected through individual sessions with the children. During these sessions, the children were administered the Wally Social Problems Test and the DeMoulin Self-Concept Development Scale, while the mothers completed the Parenting Attitudes Scale and the Demographic Information Form. The mediating role of self-esteem and self-efficacy in the relationship between parenting styles and children's social problem-solving skills was examined using PROCESS MACRO. The results supported the proposed model, demonstrating that the impact of democratic parenting style on social problem-solving skills was partially mediated by self-concept, specifically self-esteem, as a parenting measure. These findings suggest that self-esteem is an essential individual characteristic to consider in relation to preschoolers' social relationships, in addition to the influence of democratic parenting style behaviors.

    Keywords: parenting styles, self-esteem, self-efficacy, social problem solving, 48-72-month-oldchildren

    Received: 07 Jun 2024; Accepted: 14 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Ayık, Sezer and Koçyiğit. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Türker Sezer, Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Bolu, Türkiye

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