Interaction styles in child–guardian relationships in kinship and non-kinship guardian families
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2022-4-1-31-40Keywords:
guardian family, kinship care, parenting style, family relation, child’s emotional well-beingAbstract
Family is traditionally recognized as the most effective environment for personal development in childhood. However, presently, the number of children without parental care is increasing worldwide. Two common forms of child custody are kinship and non-kinship guardian care. A comfortable atmosphere and positive relationships between guardians and children are essential conditions for stability and effective parenting. Therefore, styles of interaction between the guardian and the child, alongside relations between other members of such families, come to the fore. The study explores the hypothesis that interaction styles differ in kinship and non-kinship guardian families. To test the hypothesis, we interviewed pairs of school-age children and their guardians in kinship care families (grandmothers as guardians, n = 56) and non-kinship families (n = 103). The control group consisted of 42 families of birthparents and their children. The interview was designed to include variables from the Parental Attitude Research Instrument (for adults), the Parent-Child Relationships Inventory (for children) and scales from the Family APGAR. Factor analysis identified five parameters of parenting styles and three characteristics of adults’ behavior as assessed by the children. A positive interest in the child’s life was rated significantly lower in all guardian families compared to the control group, but was also scored significantly higher by the children from kinship guardian families. Kinship care families had higher rates of excessively infantilizing care than non-kinship guardian families and the control group. Interaction between children and adults in guardian families is more prone to conflict than in birth families. Practical implications of this study will require identifying targets for psychological support in non-kinship and kinship care families.
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