Parenting in low-income families from the perspective of social work

Trnava University Trnava, Slovakia

^* Corresponding author: banovcinova.a@gmail.com

Abstract

The family is the primary socializing factor. Its mission is to create a stable and safe environment for the child and for his comprehensive development. The role of parents is to give to a child the values and norms accepted in the society, which is a prerequisite for successful integration of a child into society. That is why the upbringing function of the family is regarded as one of the main. This feature is, however, influenced by many factors.

The goal of the study was to find how poverty affects parenting. For the data collection was used questionnaire Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), which measures parenthood through five dimensions (1) positive involvement with children, (2) Supervision and monitoring, (3) use of positive discipline techniques, (4) consistency in Theus of discipline chniques, (5) use of corporal punishment. The sample was divided into two groups, with the first group consisted of 188 parents living in poverty The reference group consisted of parents living in households with income standard (N−188).Analysis of the results showed differences between parents living in poverty and between parents with a standard rate of income especially in monitoring and supervision, and also in the use of positive disciplinary techniques. On the contrary, there were no significant differences in cooperation between the parents or the use of corporal punishment. Based on the results it is clear that poverty is one of the factors affecting parenting. Therefore, social worker who works with low-income families should focus attention on this area of family functioning.