Maternal Acceptance–Rejection and Mother–Child Interaction in Turkish Mothers of Children with Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The study evaluates the relationship between mothers’ perceptions of being accepted or rejected by their mothers as children and the quality of mother–child interaction in mothers with developmental disabilities. The mothers’ and children’s ages ranged from 25 to 56 (x = 35.05) and 12 to 72 months (x = 52), respectively. A total of 103 children were involved in the study (80 boys and 23 girls); 57 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and 46 with other developmental disabilities. Parental Acceptance–Rejection Scale / Mother Assessment / Short Form – Turkish Version was administered to the mothers to measure their perceptions of their own maternal acceptance–rejection. The Turkish version of the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale was used to score mothers’ interaction levels with their children with developmental disabilities. The results indicate that mothers generally perceived maternal rejection. The perception of maternal acceptance–rejection differed greatly based on the mother’s number of siblings. The quality of mother–child interaction was significantly affected by the children’s diagnoses. Although a weak and positive correlation was found between mothers’ perception of maternal rejection and the quality of their interaction with their child, this finding was discussed within the context of culture, since effective parenting in Turkish culture tends to be practiced through high level of control and employing discipline