The Relationship between “Frequency of Use” and "Parenting Environment" in Community-based Parenting Support Centers: A Family Social Work Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine factors that affect the “parenting environment” (especially, the parent's child-rearing skills and competencies) in families utilizing Community based Parenting Support Centers (CPSC). Statistical analysis of parent responses to a questionnaire identified the following four-factor structures pertaining to the “parenting environment”: “gathering parenting-related information and making parenting friends,” “ability to interact according to the child's feelings,” “parenting anxiety and stress,” and “parent-child play that facilitates child development.” It was found that parents, who used CPSC more frequently, reported a greater ability to interact according to the child's feelings, than parents who used such centers less frequently. This correlation was not significantly related to the other three-factor structures of “gathering parenting-related information and making parenting friends,” “parenting anxiety and stress,” and “parent-child play.” In contrast, it was found that among parents who used the CPSC less frequently, there was a significant relationship between “gathering parenting-related information and making parenting friends” and “parent-child play.” These results suggest that family social work practice (in particular, “gathering parenting-related information and making parenting friend“ included “parent-child play”) at the CPSC focus on assisting the less frequent users to develop the "ability to interact according to the child's feelings."