MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://mhgcj.org ISSN 2612-2138
Types of parent-child relationship and indicators of
neuropsychological development of preschool
children
Ekaterina Ermolova, Olga Shamshikova
Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russia
Abstract
Introduction: During the last 20 years, in Russia and in many EU countries, there has been
significant change in the global social and cultural situation. Individualistic tendencies rose
sharply and there is a widespread destruction of the sense of belonging. In this regard, the type
of parent-child relationship is changing, which is one of the key dimension of the
neuropsychological development of children. There is a logical question for psychologists,
teachers and parents, what types of parent-child relationships are constructive, that is, they
favor normal neuropsychological development of children of preschool age (6-7 years).
Purpose: The purpose of the present work is to investigate correlation between types of parent-
child relationships and indicators of neuropsychological development of children, as well as
identifying constructive types of parent-child relationships for the normal neuropsychological
development of children.
Methodology: The study was conducted within the framework of the basic screening program
(pre-school stage). The Order of the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation of 03.07.2000 №
241 On approval of the Medical card of the child for educational institutions (together with the
Instruction on the procedure of an accounting form № 026/u-2000 (The Medical card of the
child for educational institutions of preschool, primary, basic, secondary (complete) general
education, primary and secondary vocational education, orphanages and boarding schools).
Determination of the correspondence of neuropsychological development to the child's age
was carried out according to the following indicators: thinking and speech; attention and
memory; positive emotions and social contacts; sensorimotor development. Types of parental
relationship was studied using the methodology of the Questionnaire “Parental relationship”
(QPR), A.Y. Varga, V.V. Stolin. The sample was formed from 94 respondents who were screened
in the framework of the basic screening program (preschool stage) at the health Center of the
MC “Gubernia” in Novosibirsk. The study of determination of the type of parent-child relationship
of 47 respondents (mothers) was conducted and the neuropsychic development of 47 children
of preschool age in the families (6-7 years) was evaluated.
Results and Discussion: The data obtained indicate that different types of parent-child
relationship such as “Cooperation” and “Symbiosis” positively interrelated with different indicators
(attention and memory; the development of positive emotions and the presence of significant
experiences in children) of the child's neuropsychological development. Such types of parent-
child relationship as “Infantilism” and “Acceptance-rejection” negatively interrelated with such
indicators of child's neuropsychological development as attention and memory; thinking,
speech and positive emotions and social contacts.
Conclusion: Children in groups with a more “constructive” parental relationship type have
higher cognitive scores and fewer behavioral problems. The materials of the study can be used
by child psychologists in the evaluation of neuropsychological development of the child. The
Bank of diagnostic techniques that quickly allow diagnosing the state of neuropsychic
development of the child in relation to the type of parental relations and thereby increasing the
effectiveness of its correction through work with parents is of practical importance
MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://mhgcj.org ISSN 2612-2138
Keywords
Mental health, parent-child relations; neuropsychic development; preschool age; indicators of
development.
Submitted for publication: 3
July 2020
Received: 3 July 2020
Accepted for publication: 20
October 2020
Introduction
“Each cultural and historical epoch gives rise
to a certain set of life dominants which human
community perceives as a norm, a way of life
and a dominating world outlook. The modern era
in this respect is a crisis one” (Shamshikova et al,
2011. p. 17). The crisis (socio-economic)
manifests itself as a violation of the normal
functioning of society as a result of a sharp
aggravation of social contradictions and creating
a threat to the resilience of both society and the
individual in the environment (with the most
vulnerable is the personality of a child of
preschool age).
Over the past 20 years, there has been a
sharp change in the system of value orientations,
increased individualistic trends, there is a
widespread destruction of a sense of belonging;
new systems of interaction appear and space
“without borders expands”. In this regard, there is
an urgent question of studying a “new social
reality”, which changes the content of growing up
(development and socialization) of a child.
“Specific data collected by scientists show that
the change of historical situation has stimulated
the qualitative mental, psychological and
personality changes of a contemporary child”
(Feldstein, 2011, p. 385).
The irrepressible penetration of modern means
of communication and information technologies
into the world of childhood; the emergence of
new inflated social expectations and
requirements in relation to the intellectual skills of
a child; visible predominance of acceleration
over amplification (enrichment of development);
the change in the content and form of
education at different stages of the educational
process (Obukhova & Kotlyar, 2011) demand
today the need for in-depth study of the normal
(potential) neuropsychological development
(NPD) of a child. “... this potential of preschool
childhood could be realized, as was noted by
A.V. Zaporozhets, only by taking into account the
age-related psychophysiological characteristics
and psychological specificity of this childhood
stage” (Bolshunova & Ermolova, 2016, p. 377).
First, such consideration of the specifics of
age should be carried out by parents in the
organization of the system of activity of the child,
its development and education. This requires that
parents have certain role competencies and
have sufficient motivation to maintain adequate
parent-child relationships (Grusec & Danyliuk,
2019). However, modern parents are increasingly
exhibiting “low level of parental motivation, poor
command of communication skills in parents in
regard with children, poor organization of child's
leisure and daily schedule” (Feldstein, 2011, p.
386). Such parental characteristics are reflected
in different types of parental relationship (which is
the basis of the social situation of development)
and determine specific configurations of the
development of neuropsychic processes and
personal formations of preschool children.
Taking into account the relevance of the
revealed contradictions, we consider it important
in the current socio-cultural conditions to study
the normal neuropsychological development of
the child and the causes of abnormalities in the
neuropsychic development of children, where
one of the determining role of the functioning of
the personality of a preschooler is the type of
parent-child relations.
Purpose
The purpose of the present work is to
investigate correlation between types of parent-
child relationships and indicators of
neuropsychological development of children, as
well as identifying constructive types of parent-
child relationships for the normal
neuropsychological development of children.
MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://mhgcj.org ISSN 2612-2138
Design/Methodology/Approach
We have formed a set of complementary
empirical methods: questionnaires, testing (blank
and projective), mathematical and statistical
methods of data processing. The study was
conducted within the framework of the basic
screening program (pre-school stage). The Order
of the Ministry of health of the Russian Federation
of 03.07.2000 № 241 On approval of the
Medical card of the child for educational
institutions (together with the Instruction on the
procedure of an accounting form № 026/u-2000
(The Medical card of the child for educational
institutions of preschool, primary, basic,
secondary (complete) general education,
primary and secondary vocational education,
orphanages and boarding schools) (2000).
Determination of the correspondence of
neuropsychological development to the child's
age was carried out according to the following
indicators: thinking and speech; attention and
memory; positive emotions and social contacts;
sensorimotor development.
The following methods were used for
diagnostic purposes:
1) The Questionnaire “Parental relationship”
(QPR), A.Y. Varga, V.V. Stolin (1982) (DYa
Raygorodsky, 1998); 2) The Orientation test of
school maturity of Core-Yerseke, which is a
modification of the test of A. Kern (1978); 3)
Methods of learning ten words by A.R. Luria
(1973); 4) Methods of “Nelepitsa (Nonsense)”, the
author is S.R. Nemov (1986); 5) The Interview – “A
Magic world” , the author is D.V. Lubowski (1982);
6) The Test “Draw a family”, the authors are V. Huls
(1952), L. Corman (1964) A. I. Zakharova (1982)
and others (I. Kniginoy, 1998). When analyzing the
results of the study, statistical data processing
methods were used: percentage distribution of
the trait and the correlation analysis
(nonparametric rs-Spearman criterion).
The sample was formed from 94 respondents
who were screened in the framework of the basic
screening program (preschool stage) at the
health Center of the MC “Gubernia” in
Novosibirsk. The study of determination of the
type of parent-child relationship of 47
respondents (mothers) was conducted and the
neuropsychic development of 47 children of
preschool age in the families (6-7 years) was
evaluated.
Results
With the help of the Bank of diagnostic tools
formed by us, diagnostics of preschool children
and their parents (only mothers took part in
research) was consistently by all methods carried
out. We received the following results:
- in terms of intellectual and sensorimotor
development screened preschoolers were
divided into three groups: ready for school 60%
(28 children), the average level of readiness –
36% (17 children) and 4% of cases (2 children)
require additional research to obtain more
objective data;
- by indicators of thinking and speech: high
level is revealed at 23% of cases (11 children),
average level – 68% of cases (32 children), at 9%
of cases (4 children) – low;
- according to the indicators of attention and
memory: high level of development was
revealed at 23% of the screened (11 children),
the average level – 68% (31 children), low level
was demonstrated by 9% of children (5 children);
- in terms of the degree of manifestation of
positive emotions and social contacts: high
degree is observed at 29% (14 children), an
average - 60% (28 people), low – at 11% of
cases (five children);
- in terms of the level of severity of needs,
strong emotions at the screened children: highly
formed at 21% (10 children), medium – 60% (28
children), low – 19% of cases (9 children).
In the study of the type of parental relationship
(PR), it was found that in terms of the scale
“Acceptance – rejection” (reflects the integral
emotional attitude to the child) refers to 29% of
the screened parents (14 people), to the PR
“Cooperation” – 8% (4 parents), “Symbiosis” – 4%
(2 parents), “Authoritarian hypersocialization” – 8%
(4 parents), “Infantilism” was detected in 12% of
cases (6 parents). In 20% of cases, the subjects
were found to have a combination of types of PR
scales “Acceptance – rejection and Infantilism”
and “Cooperation and Symbiosis”.
Thus, the most common types of PR were: a
combination of scales: “Acceptance – rejection”
and “Infantilism” – 20%; “Cooperation” and
“Symbiosis” – 20% and “Acceptance – rejection”
– 28%.
Next, we checked the relations between the
indicators of neuropsychic development of
children (according to the scales of
questionnaires) and the type of parent-child
relationship to the child. The results of the
correlation analysis by indicators of
neuropsychological development and scales of
parental relationship showed the following: such
types of parent-child relations as “Cooperation”
and “Symbiosis” directly correlate with indicators
of neuropsychological development: attention
and memory (p = 0, 001), positive emotions (p =
0, 001), strong emotions (p = 0, 04); in addition to
this type of PR “Symbiosis” has a negative
relationship with the indicator of intellectual and
MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://mhgcj.org ISSN 2612-2138
sensorimotor development (p = 0, 021). The type
of parent-child relations “Acceptance-rejection”
and “Infantilism” has an inverse relationship with
the indicator of positive emotions (p = 0, 004), as
well as the type – «Infantilism» has an inverse
relationship with the indicators of attention and
memory (p = 0, 01), strong emotions (p = 0,
008), and the type of PR “Acceptance-rejection”
has feedback with indicators of thinking and
speech (p = 0, 05).
Discussion
Based on the empirical data, we see the
expediency of assessing the neuropsychic
development of a child 6-7 years of age in
relation to the definition of the type of parental
relations. We proceed from the position that the
type of parent-child relations is an integral
characteristic of parental value orientations,
attitudes, emotional attitude to the child (Varga,
2006; Filippova, 1999; Spivakovskaya, 2000;
Holden, 1995; Shamshikova & Gorbatovskaja,
2020), and has one of the determining effects on
the level and content of neuropsychological
development of the child, determining its
emotional, sensorimotor and intellectual
development.
The data obtained indicate that the majority
of the screened children demonstrate an
average level of readiness for school, i.e. the
development of fine motor skills of the hand and
coordination of vision and hand movements
necessary for mastering writing, are able to
imitate the model and focus on one case without
being distracted for some time. Also, a greater
number of screened children (60-68%) have
average indicators of development of arbitrary
attention and short-term memory; average
indicators of thinking and speech (children have
elementary imaginative ideas about the world
and about the logical connections and relations
existing between some objects of this world:
animals, their way of life, nature; demonstrate the
ability to reason logically and express their
thoughts grammatically correct), the average
degree of positive emotions and social contacts
(most children show positive experiences –
emotions such as joy and interest, tenderness
and friendliness towards their family members;
realize and accept their place in the family
structure; have multiple positive social contacts
and adequate structure of sexual identification).
In most children, an average level of severity of
needs and strong emotions was found.
However, there were children who
demonstrated a low level of the examined
indicators: two children – boys – showed
unreadiness for school; four children were
diagnosed with a low level of development of
thinking and speech (these children could hardly
operate with ideas about objects, connections
and relations between them); five children
showed a low level of development of arbitrary
attention and memory. These children also found
problems in relations with others.
Also, children with a high level of severity of
the examined traits (according to different
indicators from 10 to 14 children) were identified.
These children are distinguished by active
mastery of the ways of practical and cognitive
activity; positive emotional attitude to the
environment in accordance with the values,
ideals and norms of society. In their general
structure of behavior, new forms of empathy and
empathy to another person, so necessary for joint
activity and communication, are shown.
According to D.B. Elkonin, preschool age
revolves around an adult, as around its center, its
functions, and its tasks. The adult acts in a
generalized form, as a carrier of social functions
in the system of social relations. The child is a
member of society, it cannot live outside of
society, its main need is to live together with other
people, but this cannot be done in current socio-
cultural conditions: the child's life takes place in
conditions of indirect, not direct connection with
the world (Elkonin, 1998; 2007). Parent plays the
key role in this context.
The leadership style of the adult is important
here. It should help to ensure that the child feels
like a full participant in joint activities, has the
opportunity to show initiative and independence
in achieving the goal. Excessive regulation of the
behavior of a preschool child, when he plays the
role of a mechanical performer of individual
orders of an adult, discourages the child, reduces
his emotional tone, leaves indifferent to the results
of the common cause (Obukhova, 2013).
Such types of parent-child relations as
“Cooperation” (when the parent is interested in
the affairs and plans of the child, tries to help
him, and sympathizes; appreciates the
intellectual and creative abilities of the child, feels
a sense of pride for him; encourages initiative
and independence of the child) and “Symbiosis”
(when the parent feels with the child as a whole,
tries to meet all the needs of the child, to protect
him from the difficulties and troubles of life;
worries for the child and seeks to devote him a lot
of time) positively affect the development of
such indicators of the level of neuro-mental
development of the child, as attention and
memory, the development of positive emotions
and the presence of significant experiences in
children.
Such type of parent-child relations as
“Symbiosis” negatively affects the indicators of the
MHGCJ – 2020
Mental Health: Global Challenges Journal
https://mhgcj.org ISSN 2612-2138
level of intellectual and sensorimotor
development of the child in the family. Such type
of PR as “Infantilism” (when parents seek to
attribute the child personal and social failure; see
a child younger than his real age is and consider
his interests, hobbies, thoughts and feelings not
serious; imagine a child unfit and unsuccessful) is
having a negative impact on such indicators of
the NPD children as attention and memory,
positive emotions, meaningful experiences.
The type of PR “Acceptance-rejection” (where
at high scores on this scale “rejection” is
diagnosed, the parent perceives his child bad,
unsuitable, unsuccessful; the parent considers
that the child will not succeed in life because of
low abilities, small mind, bad inclinations; the
parent more often feels anger, frustration,
irritation, resentment towards the child) is
negatively associated with such indicators of NPD
as thinking and speech, positive emotions and
social contacts.
Conclusions
The data obtained indicate that different
types of parent-child relationship such as
“Cooperation” and “Symbiosis” positively
interrelated with different indicators (attention and
memory; the development of positive emotions
and the presence of significant experiences in
children) of the child's neuropsychological
development. Such types of parent-child
relationship as “Infantilism” and “Acceptance-
rejection” negatively interrelated with such
indicators of child's neuropsychological
development as attention and memory; thinking,
speech and positive emotions and social
contacts.
As we can see, even before entering school
there are differences in the cognitive, emotional
and behavioral development of children,
depending on the type of family relations.
Children in groups with a more “constructive”
parent-child type have higher cognitive scores
and fewer behavioral problems. An important
part of these differences between children can
be explained by what parents “do” in terms of
educational activities, such as parental attitudes
and a style of upbringing children.
The materials of the study can be used by
child psychologists in the evaluation of
neuropsychological development of the child.
The Bank of diagnostic techniques that quickly
allow diagnosing the state of neuropsychic
development of the child in relation to the type of
family relations and thereby increasing the
effectiveness of its correction through work with
parents is of practical importance.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
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