The Mediating Role of Attachment Styles in the Relationship of Parent-child Relationship and Parenting Styles With Children’s Behavioral Problems After Divorce

Objectives: After the divorce of their parents, children face various behavioral problems, and the attachment styles of the parents and their parenting styles will affect these problems. This research assesses the mediating role of attachment styles in the relationship between parent-child relationships and parenting styles with children’s behavioral problems after divorce. Methods: The investigation was classified as a descriptive-correlation type. The population consisted of mothers of children aged ۶ to ۱۰ years who had undergone divorce proceedings at the Shahid Bahonar Judicial Institute’s Welfare Department in Tehran City, Iran, during the first half of ۲۰۲۲. A convenience sampling method was used to select ۲۶۸ mothers based on a correlation plan. They completed the child behavior inventory (CBCL), parent-child relationships survey questionnaire (PCRS), parenting styles inventory (PSI), and revised attachment style survey (RAAS). The research hypotheses were tested using the smart partial least squares in structural equation modeling.  Results: The assessment of the research tools’ reliability was conducted via the Cronbach α method and the composite reliability coefficient, with all variables showing a coefficient of above ۰.۷, indicating acceptable reliability. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated using the average variance extracted, which exceeded ۰.۴, indicating relatively acceptable validity. The assessment of the adequacy of the structural model involved analyzing important coefficients of Z, R۲, and Q۲, with the obtained results indicating an appropriate fit. The results displayed that the mediating role of anxious-ambivalent attachment style and avoidant attachment style is evident in the association between authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and the parent-child relationship, particularly concerning children’s behavioral problems (β=۰.۱۸۴, P<۰.۰۵; β=۰.۰۱۹, P<۰.۰۱). Secure attachment style serves as a mediating role (partial role) in the association between authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting style and parent-child relationship with children’s behavioral problems (β=-۰.۳۶۴, P<۰.۰۵; β=-۰.۰۹۶, P<۰.۰۱; β=۰.۰۵۶, P<۰.۰۵). Discussion: Avoidant and secure attachment styles can mitigate the impact of permissive and authoritarian parenting styles by mediating roles in the association between parent-child relationships and parenting styles with children’s behavioral problems after divorce. They also highlight the emphasis on maintaining positive parent-child relationships and implementing authoritative parenting styles to reduce children’s behavioral problems following. Further research is needed to address and assess concerns regarding children’s behavioral problems after divorce.

Keywords:

Child , Parenting , Divorce , Mothers , Behavioral problem , Parents , Questionnaire