Archive \ Volume.15 2024 Issue 1

Influence of Parent's Behavior and Practice on their Family Health

1. Faculty of Public Health & Informatics, Umm Al-Qura University, KSA.

Abstract

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INTRODUCTION

Numerous studies have demonstrated that parental conduct and practices have a direct impact on several elements of family life, including health. Specifically, poor parenting practices are linked to children's negative habits. One of the studies has shown that the level of education of the mother may affect her food choices provided to the family, which may make the children follow this pattern of life [1].

All social and psychological problems may be transmitted from one generation to another [2] resulting in (alcoholism, smoking, eating too much harmful foods, etc.) [3].

The psychological aspect is that parents influence children through their problems Also, their behaviors may affect children’s long-term mental health, and as for the social aspect, such as that parents follow customs and traditions, it affects children [4].

Most adults copy the behavior of parents in two ways: consciously on one hand, and subconsciously on the other hand [5].

Studies proved that the refusal of parents to use alcohol strengthens children to do the same later.

Also, the eating behaviors of family members were affected by the behavior of fathers, and this has been proven by a study that has worked to prove the influence of Parents' Eating Behaviors and Child Feeding Practices on Children’s Weight Status and has proven that mothers’ behaviors were quoted by most girls and boys [6].  

A study conducted by the Prince's Trust found that 26 percent of young people from low-income families, ages 16 to 24, believed that "people like them don't succeed in life." Parental attitudes are transmitted to their offspring.  For instance, a young person's likelihood of desiring to continue their education after the age of sixteen is influenced by their parents' educational experiences and attitudes. According to a recent Department of Education longitudinal study of young people in England (LSYPE) analysis, 90% of 13-year-olds with parents in "higher managerial and professional occupations" intend to finish their education, but just 67% of 13-year-olds with parents in "routine occupations" intend to do so” [7].  

Objectives

• To identify parent’s negative behaviors which can have influence their children’s health and social development.
• To clarify parent’s negative attitudes and practices that might affect their family's social and psychological health.
• To raise awareness on the importance of building children’s confidence/personality and best parental practices.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Study Design

Descriptive-cross sectional to study the influence of parents’ behavior and practices on their family health.

 Study Area

Faculty of Public Health and Informatics at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah

Study Population

50% of female students (192) at the Faculty of Public Health and Informatics.

Methods of Data Collection

Questionnaire

A well-designed, pretested questionnaire that fulfilled the intended objective had been administered to collect the necessary data. 

‏Observation: Observation is used to collect essential data to fulfill research objectives.

Data Analysis

Data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version.26

Ethical Clearance

Ethical clearance was obtained from the Committee of Biomedical Research Ethics in the Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Statistical Analysis

Software & Statistical Methods

SPSS v26 was used to analyze survey data.

Descriptive Statistics: frequency distribution was analyzed, either in the form of tables (for the sample characteristics) or bar charts (for the main questions).

Chi-square Test: this test tries to see whether two categorical variables are related to each other or not. The test contains a series of mathematical calculations that finally results in a p-value, which ranges between 0 and 1. If the p-value is less than .05, the relationship is significant (it seems to exist). The threshold of .05 is called the level of significance or alpha. Alpha is usually chosen to be .05 in research. It can be smaller (strict test) or larger (lenient test).

Descriptive Statistics

Sample Characteristics

The sample contained 192 female participants who can be categorized according to their major, academic year, and age as shown in the table below:

* 4 participants did not provide their majors

** 3 participants did not provide their academic year

*** 1 participant did not provide her age

The sample is roughly divided into those who have a Health Administration A major and those who have a Health Promotion major (48.9% and 51.1% respectively). The largest portion of the sample participants were students in the 4^th year (45%), and the rest were in the 2^nd and 3^rd year (32.3% and 22.8% respectively). The largest proportion of the participants (47.6%) were 21-22 years old. Those who were younger constituted 35.6% of the sample, while those older constituted 16.8%.

Further, the tables below show the distribution of participants by (1) academic year at each age group, (2) major at each age group, and (3) major at each academic year:

It can be seen from Figure 1 that most of the participants (79.2%) think that parents' adherence to some customs and traditions negatively affects their daughters.

Figure 2 shows that the majority of participants (85%) think that the development of the cognitive and social health of families depends on the presence of supportive parents (the sum of “definitely yes” and “maybe yes” is 57.3%+28.1%=85.4%).

Figure 3 shows no decisive majority in participants that agree or disagree with the fact that the parents (or one of them) being illiterate may affect the upbringing of the children, whereas around 32% agreed (sum of “definitely yes” and “maybe yes”) and around 38% disagreed (sum of “maybe no” and “definitely no”), while 29% were hesitating in giving their opinions.

It can be seen from Figure 4 that the majority (around 90%) of the participants agree that the behavior of parents may affect the behavior of their families (the sum of “definitely yes” and “maybe yes” is 63%+26.6%=89.6%).

It can be noticed that more than half of the participants (59%) felt that they need some distance from their parents to make their own decisions, while the rest were either not sure about having such feelings or not (14%), or did not have it (27%).

As can be seen from Figure 6, most of the participants (around 79%) did not acquire bad habits (such as smoking) from their parents.

It has been clarified from the table below that a statistically significant relationship exist between age and the need for distance from parents since the p-value of the chi-square test is .017 (which is < .05).

As shown in the table, the relationship between the effect of illiterate parents and their ability to be suppurative parents is statistically significant, since the p-value of the chi-square test is .014 (which is < .05).

To see in what way this relationship is significant, we need to shrink the above table and make it simple, by combining rows (or columns) of “definitely yes” and “maybe yes,” as well as, the rows (or columns) of “maybe no” and “definitely no.” The result of this process is the table.

Shows that 55% agree that there is a strong relationship between negative parenting habits and being a bad model for their families, N= 192.

Shows that 50% agree that there is a strong relationship between the absence of a parent affects the social health of their families, N= 192

Shows that 69% agree that there is a strong relationship between Parenting with overprotection affecting a family's self-confidence., N= 192

Shows that 61% agree that there is a strong relationship between parental behavior mode and the influence on the behavior of their family, N= 192.

The parents' behaviors and practices formulate the family attitudes and practices that directly affect their health status, this study clarified that more than half of the participants require some distance from their parents, which could tell that they are experiencing the absence of complete freedom. Most people believe that a parent's actions have an impact on their family's actions and behaviors.

For example, the majority of them thought that parents sticking with customs and traditions may negatively affect their families, whereas supportive parents may positively build the cognitive and social health of their families. However, the most interesting finding is that although they feel that behavior and traditions may affect the psychological health of the daughter, participants (mostly) are either not relating this to the education of parents or at least unsure whether education is relevant or not in this matter.

It has been explained that a statistically significant relationship exist among age and the need for distance from parents. This portrait is generally consistent with findings from previous study which concluded that teens' privacy issues stem from trust issues, since teens feel that they are growing into adults, they want to feel that their parents have trust in them so that they can do more and more things confidently [8].  

The results of the study align with the study of illiterate parents and their capacity to support their families, indicating that most participants believed that the presence of supportive parents is crucial for the development of a family's cognitive and social health. This will have a significant impact on the health of the family the parental literacy level has been associated with measures related to parenting and child developmental outcomes [9].  

The study clarified that belief in the need for supportive parents to build the cognitive and social health of families was higher among those who believe in the negative effect of parent illiteracy. This can be noticed from the percentage of those who responded with “definitely/maybe yes” within the supportive parent questions, as it decreases gradually when we move towards the answer “definitely no” within the illiteracy questions. In addition to that the study showed that negative parenting habits will become a bad model for their families.

The study made it clear that having supportive parents has a significant impact on how well families develop cognitively and socially. ‏parental support develops children's cognitive, social and psychological health [10].

CONCLUSION

The study concluded that there is a strong effect of parental behaviors and practices on their family's social and psychological health, leading to many implications for family and community health in general.

Many factors including illiteracy of the parents, overprotection, their negative habits, absence from home, negative parenting habits, and being a bad model for their families affect the family’s health. The presence of supporting parents is essential for the development of families' social and cognitive wellness.

Recommendation

The study recommends the need for social and psychological health programs directed to deal with family health problems, the sensitivity of such problems indicates the privacy needed for such programs, which can use telephone counseling.

The service can be supported by designated health centers or hospitals for family social health.

Other partners are to be invited to contribute to such services as religious leaders, social workers, and community leaders, to provide complementary services to reduce the magnitude of family social and psychological health problems.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We are grateful to all students participated in the study.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Authors declares no conflict of interest in this study.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT: None

ETHICS STATEMENT: Informed consent had been distributed to participants. No names or IDs had been Registered.

References