Running Head: Article Critique

Article Critique

Lindsay Birchall
University of Calgary

Research Methods in School Psychology-EDPS 612.01

Dr. Yvonne Hindes
April 14th, 2015

Running Head: Article Critique

The Effects of Parental Attitudes and Mothers Psychological Well-Being on the Emotional
and Behavioural Problems of Their Preschool Children
Purpose of the Study
The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between maternal attitudes about
parenting, maternal symptoms of depression, maternal symptoms of anxiety and internalizing and
externalizing behaviour problems in preschool children.
Strengths
Literature Review. The vast majority of research has focused on child related, (e.g. age,
gender, temperament, etc.), parental (e.g. personality, marital status, psychosocial adjustment,
etc.), and environmental (e.g. socioeconomic status, support systems, etc.) risk factors to child
development. But, very few studies have examined how maternal attitudes and beliefs may
influence parenting practices, impacting healthy child development. Essentially, this study brings
forth the importance of the parent-child relationship, which is theoretically based in Belskeys
parenting model. This model highlights the relationship between a mothers psychosocial wellbeing and inappropriate parenting beliefs. For example, when mothers are not ready to have
children, or they do not have a supportive spousal relationship, it is not surprising they develop
negative attitudes towards their children such as rejection, strictness or over-involvement.
Consequently this may result in children developing emotional and behavioural problems. As
such, the authors have not only provided a strong theoretical rationale for their research, but they
have also highlighted a new area of interest.
Hypothesis. The research hypothesis was clear, logical and comprehensive; the authors
stated that maternal well-being, specifically maternal attitudes, would be associated with
childhood behaviour problems. They also hypothesized that maternal attitudes would have a
larger influence on internalizing and externalizing behavioural problems then maternal symptoms

Running Head: Article Critique

of depression or anxiety. This emphasizes the novel construct of maternal attitudes and beliefs as
possible contributors to unhealthy child development.
Sample. The sample in this study was large, including 204 children and their mothers,
from 17 different preschools. Appropriate consent was obtained for their participation and the
sample was gender proportionate. Its is important to note that preschool aged children are rarely
used in research, despite preschool age being a very critical period of development for all
children. As such, studying this population is a strength of this research.
Scales. The authors provided strong evidence of reliability and validity for the
instruments they used: The Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the
Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI)), the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Child
Behaviour Checklist (CBCL/1 -5).
Data Analysis. The authors ran separate and hierarchical regression analysis to reveal
associates between maternal beliefs and attitudes and internalizing, externalizing and total
behaviour problems in their children. Conclusions from the data were well explained, with item
examples provided (e.g. rejection of the home making role had the highest correlations across
most variables, including those items measuring negative parental attitudes, such as strictness
(r=.48, P<.001), and marital conflict (r=.61, P<.001)). Interestingly, this research found that
maternal anxiety and maternal attitudes, not depression, explained more variability in childrens
internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems. Specifically, the mother rejecting attitudes
towards family life and child raising styles were found to be most closely associated with
childhood emotional and behavioural problems. This finding brings new insight into childhood
risk factors, and therefore, is a substantial strength of this research
Limitations

Running Head: Article Critique

Sample. There were several limitations within the sample of children and their mothers.
First, a large portion of the mothers had a university education (i.e. 64.2%) and lived in a middle
income household (i.e. 78). Second, 84% of the sample of mothers worked. Third, for 66% of the
mothers who participated, this was their first child. Although the authors identify these sample
limitations (i.e. limited diversity of socioeconomic status and family demographics), they also
explain how the characteristics of their sample may be a considered a strength. Essentially, highly
educated working mothers may place high value on being active participants in society; when
they are faced with another active role of being a parent, this results in overwhelming
responsibilities, influencing maternal attitudes towards parenting and subsequently their
psychosocial adjustment and behaviours.
Scales. All of the scales used in this research were self-report. This poses a substantial
limitation for the CBCL, which was used to measure the childrens problematic behaviours.
Because most of the mothers had only one child, one may question the perspective or ability of
the mothers to accurately identify problematic behaviours for their children, within
developmental norms. The authors explain the use of self-report measures as a limitation because
of the potential bias of anxious mothers to recognize negative behaviours in their children.
The authors did not explain the process of translating the CBCL and the PARI into
Turkish. This may be a limitation if the translations were not accurate in representing the items
and constructs. All of the scales were filled out by the mothers either within their home or within
clinical settings. Although the authors did randomize the order of which the scales were filled out,
there was potential for cognitive fatigue to impact respondent accuracy; there were 4 scales in
total to be completed, one of which included 100 items.
Data Analysis. Interestingly, maternal depression was not associated with childhood
behaviour problems in this study; past research has reliably documented this association. The

Running Head: Article Critique

authors explain that this may have occurred because their sample was non-clinical or because the
highly educated mothers may actually be more likely to manifest anxiety rather than depressive
symptoms.
Conclusion. Although the research supported that maternal attitudes are related to
childhood behaviour problems, the authors explanation assumes that maternal attitudes were
impacting childrens behaviours. The opposite should be considered as well; could childhood
behaviour difficulties be impacting maternal attitudes towards parenting?
Ethical Considerations
The article did not explicitly identify ethical considerations for their research, other than
explaining how consent was obtained. Two potentially concerning situations may occur within
this type of research. One, parents may have reported concerning parenting practices or attitudes
(e.g. neglect, harsh punishment) or they could have reported clinical symptoms of depression or
anxiety. What did the researchers do in these situations? Two, the parents may also have reported
behaviour problems with their children that may have prompted clinical concern. What did the
researchers do in this case? In both situations the researchers would have an ethical obligation to
inform parents of their concerns, and at the very least refer parents and children for assistance.
Suggestions for Improvements.
Further research exploring the attitudes and parenting practices within highly educated
and high income working mothers would be fascinating; particularly, the tendency towards more
anxious then depressive maternal symptoms. Observational data collection would be an important
addition to the current research, to increase the accuracy of data collected on childhood behaviour
problems. Lastly, employing a more representative sample (i.e. varying SES, mothers with
multiple children, mothers who are not working), would not only provide more generalizable
results, but may also generate potentially different results and conclusions.

Running Head: Article Critique

Relationship Between Preschool Academic Achievement and Creativity of

Elementary School Students
Purpose of the Study
The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of preschool participation on
academic achievement and social adjustment on first grade elementary school students.
Strengths
Literature Review. The author provides an evidence based literature review that supports
academic achievement as a cumulative function of family, community and school experiences.
He also brings forth two alternative factors to consider: growth formulation, which is the rate
of learning over specific time period, and individual measures of creativity. The author provides
evidence that prosocial behaviours are associated to creativity, and subsequent academic success.
For example, prosocial and cooperative behaviours may help create a classroom environment that
is conducive to instruction and learning. Also, social performance may have significant impact on
emotional and motivational responses to the school, which in turn, affect academic achievement.
The rate at which a child learns, when stable over a period of time, can be predictive of future
learning rates, and subsequent academic success. Although the author provides sufficient
literature to support eh inclusion of creativity and growth formulation as contributors to academic
success, the inclusion of a theoretical model would have been beneficial.
Sample. Random cluster sampling was used, which is an effective approach to sampling.
Essentially, each cluster has an equal chance of being chosen, then by default, each individual
unit within the cluster has an equal chance of being chosen, which ensures randomness.
Data Analysis. The author calculated descriptive statistics, and then implemented
quantitative analysis measures, better known as a quan-qual model. Within the quantitative

Running Head: Article Critique

analysis the authors did provide a number of tables identifying their descriptive statistics,
assisting the reader in a clear understanding of their data analysis.
Limitations
Translation. A general limitation to this article is that it appears to have been translated.
There are multiple grammatical and sentence structure errors that make the text difficult to
understand in some instances (e.g. We used a questionnaire also validity, and reliability tested by
Alpha Cronbach (0.88), Significant relationship exists between scores of female and male).
Sample. The author made obvious errors in reporting the sample size. In the abstract it
says that, statistically sample includes 3500 male and female students of first grade elementary
schools in Izeh. Under the methodology, it was stated that, statistical sample included 140 male
and 140 female student of first grade elementary in 140 elementary school in Izeh. Finally, in
their data analysis, they reported 60 subjects per group, indicating 120 subjects in total. Clearly,
there is a discrepancy in the sample size.
Hypothesis. In addition to the sample size being unclear, the hypotheses were wordy and
confusing. The authors generated four individual hypotheses, two for their descriptive statistics
and two for their quantitative analysis. For example, Significant relationship exists between
creativity mean scores in students who passed pre-elementary schools and did not pass preelementary schools, and significant relationship exists between creativity of students who
passed and did not pass pre-elementary schools. Although this type of hypothesis may be
characteristic of the quan-qual method of research, the hypotheses could have been more
succinct. Also, none of the hypotheses were directional; the authors only hypothesized that a
relationship would exist. It would have been more engaging for the reader if the study anticipated
a direction of relationships corresponding to evidence in the literature review.

Running Head: Article Critique

Scales & Replication Challenges. To measure creativity, the authors used a questionnaire
developed by Shifer in 1996. The article does provide a description of the Shifer scale and its
dimensions of creativity (e.g. Freedom of Thought, Wiling to Innovation), however, there is no
formal name of the scale provided in either the text or the references; this significantly impacts
our ability to assess the psychometric properties of the Shifer scale and impedes replication of
this research. The age of the scale is questionable. Also challenging replication, the authors did
not provide a description of what they used to measure academic achievement. Criteria for
determining who passed pre-elementary school from those that did not pass was also not
provided.
Ethical Considerations & Suggestions for Improvement
One should be cautious in drawing any strong evidence based conclusions from this study.
First, replicating this research would be key in supporting any conclusions of this study, which
would be impossible with the minimal information provided. Second, there were so many
discrepancies in the way the data was reported, one questions the procedures used in this research
and cautions the validity of the results in general. This is a significant ethical limitation and area
for improvement. Third, the author conducted analysis according to gender, but did not provide a
rationale for this. Lastly, the author makes large generalities which cannot be supported by his
research findings alone. For example, when discussing the results that children who passed preelementary schools show higher measures of creativity then those who did not pass, the authors
say that, If we do not concentrate on the creativity of children, they will not transferring to
adulthood.

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References

Molaei, R. (2014). Relationship between Preschool on Academic Achievement and Creativity of

Elementary students, Advances in Environmental Biology, 8(6), 1739-1744.
Yurdusen, S., Erol, N. & Gencoz, T., (2013). The Effects of Parental Attitudes and Mothers
Psychological Well-Being on the Emotional and Behavioural Problems of Their Preschool
Children, Matern Child Health, 17:68-75. Doi: 10.1007/s10995-012-0946-6