An empirical approach to studying gender attitude to parenting

Abstract

Background. The paper provides the results of studying gender views on parenthood. For efficient performance of the parent role the system of the subject’s ideas about the phenomenon of “parenthood” and its specific features, as well as personal features aimed at the effective performance of parental functions by both women (mothers) and men (fathers) are laid emphasis on. The Objective is to describe the pilot experimental research focused on males and females’ attitude to parenthood. The hypothesis of the study is an assumption about gender-specific attitude to parenthood in males and females in relation to the parental roles and functions that are eventually actualized in children. Females are focused on personal relationships with a child and emotionally coloured attitudes towards them, while for males mostly active forms of parenting are typical. Design. The first stage of theoretical understanding of the issue included the literature review of the foreign and Russian national psychologists focused on the psychology of parenthood (A. Adler, E. Badinter, D. Winnicott, M. Marcons, M. Mead, D. Peynes, S. Fanti, E. Erickson; T.V. Andreeva, K.N. Belogay, N.N. Vasyagina, A.I. Zakharova, O.A. Karabanova, S.Yu. Meshcheryakova, R.V. Ovcharova, V.A. Ramikh, Yu.A. Tokareva, G.G. Filippova, L.B. Schneider, etc.). The second stage of the research was focused on the study of gender-specific ideas about parenthood. Results. Based on the analysis of the existing approaches to understanding the phenomenon of “parenthood”, we defined it as a complex personal education including positive affective manifestations of the subject in relation to children shaped in the process of his interaction with the child and having a positive impact on the entire harmonious development and education of children. The survey data showed that the respondents expressed gender-specific attitudes to parenthood. In particular, the discrepancy lies in the perceptions of males and females of the “ideal parent” and their parental roles. Conclusion. The study proved the presence of gender features in the ideas of parenthood. To optimize the level and content of ideas about parenting will contribute to further rendering psychological support for the family.

Keywords

• personality
• value culture of the individual
• spiritual and moral development of the individual