Parenting schools “ABC of the family”: children’s emotional state in relation to mothers’ emotional state and parenting competencies

Context and relevance. This study is relevant as it reveals the relationship between mothers' emotional state, their parenting competencies, and children's emotional state. It also demonstrates a reduction in children's anxiety and an improvement in mothers' emotional state following participation in the “ABC of a Happy Family” program, which has practical value for family psychotherapy and psychological-pedagogical family support. Objective. To examine the emotional state of children in relation to their mothers' emotional state and parenting competencies. Hypothesis. Children's emotional state is associated with their mothers' emotional state and parenting competencies; changes in these indicators will be observed in respondents after participation in the “Alphabet of a Happy Family” program. Methods and materials. The study involved 68 mother-child pairs (Mm = 39,1, SD = 4,5; Mr = 9,9, SD = 3,6, 52,9% boys). To assess the emotional state of the mothers, the Adaptive Functioning Scale for Adults “Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment” was used, to assess parental competencies — N.D. Mikheeva's Unfinished Situations Method and E.I. Zakharova's Questionnaire of Child-Parent Emotional Interaction; to assess the emotional state of the child, 3 methods were used in accordance with the child's age: the R. Temple, M. Dorkey & W. Amen Projective Anxiety Test “Choose the right face” (4—6 years), the children's version of the manifest anxiety scale CMAS adapted by A.M. Prikhozhan (7—12 years) and A.M. Prikhozhan's Personal Anxiety Scale (13—17 years). The “Little Engine” method (S.V. Vеlieva) — for all age groups. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and factor analysis were used in the data processing. Results. A relationship was found between the child's emotional state, the mother's emotional state, and her parenting competencies. Specifically, low anxiety in children was associated with developed parenting competencies, while the mother's own emotional state could be either favorable or unfavorable. Following parental participation in the “ABC of a Happy Family” program, school-aged children showed reduced anxiety, and mothers showed decreased indicators of anxiety, depression, aggression, and manifestations of maladaptive behavior. Furthermore, 9 out of 11 indicators of parent-child emotional interaction changed, including unconditional acceptance of the child, providing emotional support, understanding the reasons for the child's state, and the parent's self-perception. Conclusions. The findings indicate that the development of parenting competencies is associated with low anxiety in school-aged children, and participation in the “ABC of a Happy Family” program may contribute to reducing adverse emotional states in both mothers and children. It is recommended that psychologists working with parent-child relationships focus on developing mothers' parenting competencies, using the program “ABC of a Happy Family”.