Self-Acceptance and Childrearing Philosophy Preference: A Correlational Study of Parents of Pre-school Aged Children

Abstract

A questionnaire survey was implemented in this study in order to determine if there existed a significant, positive relationship between the variables of self acceptance and childrearing philosophy preference. The subjects consisted of thirty-five parents from the Early School, a pre-school located near the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Entailed in this thesis are sections dealing with the concept of "self," the phenomenon of self-acceptance (and pertinent studies), and an introduction and description of three current models of socialization. A major question of this study was to explore the existence of a specific childrearing model whose premises afforded the possibility of facilitating an enhanced, optimum development of a positive self-concept in children. As an integral part of this investigative process, care was taken to identify those cluster of caring and nurturing parental qualities that may prove to be most beneficial for a child's physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Given the constraints of the research design, the following summarizes the significant results obtained in this study: 1.) There existed a significant tendency for those parents who revealed high attitudinal degrees of self-acceptance and acceptance of others (as measured by the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale, 1952), to have a corresponding preference for the Rogerian (child-centered) approach to childrearing. 2.) This study served to further substantiate previous studies claiming a significant, positive correlation between the variables of self-acceptance and acceptance of others (as measured by the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale, 1952). 3.) Among the respondents, there existed a significant, positive relationship between "self-acceptance" and ascending educational status. 4.) Finally, there existed a significant tendency for non-Caucasian ethnic groups to score higher on the Skinnerian (parent-centered) approach to childrearing.