JOURNAL OF FAMILY AND RESEARCH
Year:2019 | Volume:16 | Issue:2 (43) |Papers Count:7

The purpose of this research was to develop a structural model for predicting academic achievement based on parenting styles and parent-child relationship among high school students. The statistical population of the study was comprised of all male and female 10th and 11th graders in Tehran in school year 2016-17 (123240 students). To draw the sample, random multi-stage cluster sampling method was utilized and 400 students (220 girls and 180 boys) were selected based on Morgan’ s formula. The instruments included Parental Authority Questionnaire (Baumrind, 1973) and the Parent-Child Relationship Survey (Fine et al., 1983). The results indicated that authoritative parenting style had a significant, positive effect on students’ academic achievement. Authoritarian parenting style had a significant, negative effect on academic performance, while indulgent parenting style had a non-significant, negative impact on academic achievement. As to dimensions of mother-child relationship, positive correlations were observed between positive affect, communication, identification and students’ academic achievement, whereas resentment/role confusion had a significant, negative association with academic performance. With regard to components of father-child relationship, communication, positive affect, and interaction had significant, positive associations with academic achievement, while father's anger was negatively associated with academic performance.

The aim of this research was to determine the mediating role of punitive parental discipline (psychological aggression and physical punishment) between the dimensions of parents' parenting styles and their children's involvement in bullying victimization. The study had a correlational design. The statistical population of the study comprised all male and female students attending public junior high schools in Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh in school year 2016-17 from among whom 295 students (150 girls and 145 boys) were selected through random cluster sampling method. The instruments included Parenting Styles Questionnaire (Oliva et al., 2007), Discipline Dimensions Inventory (Straus & Fauchier, 2007), and European Bullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (Brighi et al., 2012). Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data. The results demonstrated that parental psychological aggression and physical punishment played a mediating indirect role in the link between parenting styles and adolescents’ bullying victimization. Findings also indicated that paternal and maternal parenting styles could predict adolescents' bullying involvement, while punitive parental discipline mediated this association. Furthermore, the results confirmed the mediating role of parental discipline between the parenting practices analyzed and students' victimization. In fact, parental psychological aggression and physical punishment increase the risk of adolescents' bullying involvement. Therefore, intervention programs must involve parents to make them aware about the important role they play in this process and to improve their parenting styles.

This research was undertaken to examine the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior, performance, and quality of work life among school principals in Neka. This study had a descriptive, correlational design. The statistical population of the study was comprised of all school principals in Neka in 2016 (180 individuals). The drawn sample (N=118) was selected through random stratified sampling method. The instruments included Organizational Citizenship Behaviour Questionnaire (Konovsky & Organ, 1996), ACHIEVE Questionnaire (1980), and Quality of Work Life Questionnaire (Walton, 1975). The validity of the measures was confirmed by experts and Cronbach's alpha coefficients obtained for the questionnaires were 0. 90, 0. 88, and 0. 78, respectively. The obtained data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation and stepwise regression. The results showed that there were significant relationships between the components of organizational citizenship behavior, principals’ performance, and quality of work life. Regression analysis also demonstrated that each of the components of organizational citizenship behavior accounted for a different amount of variance in principals’ performance and quality of work life. More specifically, among the components of organizational citizenship behavior, sportsmanship and civic virtue explained the most and least variance in principals’ performance, respectively. Moreover, sportsmanship and conscientiousness accounted for the most and least variance in quality of work life, respectively.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of positive psychology intervention on self-efficacy and psychological hardiness of female students. The statistical population of the study comprised all female students attending public high schools in District 4 of Tehran in school year 2017-18. The drawn sample was selected through multi-stage cluster sampling method and the subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (15 in each group). Positive psychology training was provided to the experimental group during eight 120-minute sessions and the control group received no intervention. Self-efficacy and psychological hardiness of the participants were assessed by General Self-Efficacy Scale (Sherer et al., 1982) and Psychological Hardiness Scale (Kobasa & Kahn, 1982) before and after the intervention. The obtained data were analyzed through analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results indicated that positive psychology intervention improved the self-efficacy and psychological hardiness (commitment, control, and challenge) of the intervention group compared with the control group. In general, it can be stated that positive psychology interventions can improve self-efficacy and develop psychological hardiness. Consequently, positive psychology training can be used to reduce students’ psychological problems.

This study [4] sought to examine the association between use of virtual social networks and social isolation among high school girls in Shahrekord. The research method was survey. The statistical population of the study comprised all female high school students in Shahrekord from among whom 390 students were selected via multi-stage cluster sampling method. To collect the data, Loneliness Scale (Gierveld & Kamphuis, 1985) was used which consists of 11 items and measures emotional and social loneliness. The face validity of the measure was established by conducting expert review and Cronbach's alpha coefficients for emotional loneliness, social loneliness, and social isolation were 0. 73, 0. 76, and 0. 79, respectively. In addition, a researcher-made questionnaire was utilized to measure use of virtual social networks. This scale consisted of 13 items and Cronbach’ s alpha showed the questionnaire to reach acceptable reliability, α = 0. 93. The analyses revealed that the students’ average social isolation score was less than the theoretical mean. The results also showed that there was a significant, inverse relationship between use of virtual social networks and students’ level of social isolation. However, no significant association was observed between students’ grade level, age, and level of social isolation.

This study set out to examine the relationship between organizational socialization and organizational identity among physical education teachers in cities of Tehran province. This applied research had a correlational design. The statistical population of the study consisted of all female and male physical education teachers in cities of Tehran province in school year 2017-18 (N= 1381). Based on Morgan and Krejcie Table, 302 subjects (172 women and 130 men) were selected via random cluster sampling method. The instruments included Organizational Identity Questionnaire (Miller et al., 2000) (α =. 849) and Taormina Organizational Socialization Questionnaire (2004) (α =. 899). To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation and path analysis) were utilized. The results revealed that organizational socialization and its dimensions (training, understanding, co-worker support, and future prospects) were positively associated with organizational identity of physical education teachers. Moreover, the results of the path analysis showed that the components of organizational socialization accounted for 42. 6% of the total variance in organizational identity. The components of training, co-worker support and future prospects had positive, significant effects on organizational identity of physical education teachers, whereas the effect of understanding was not statistically significant. The findings also showed that the components of training and future prospects had the greatest effects on organizational identity of teachers.

Given the unique stresses inherent in raising a child with autism, mothers may find it challenging to maintain a positive sense of self-efficacy. This study sought to determine the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on self-efficacy of mothers of children with autism. This quasi-experimental research had a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population of the study included mothers of children with autism in Isfahan from among whom 30 individuals were selected via convenience sampling and were randomly assigned to experimental (N=15) and control (N=15) groups. Due to subject attrition, the sample size reduced to 10 and 12 in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The data were collected by Berkeley Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale-Second Grade Version (Holloway et al., 2005). The experimental group received eight 90-minute sessions of ACT, while the control group received no intervention. The data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The results showed that ACT was effective in increasing self-efficacy and its components (responsibility, self-management, accepting child as an individual, and positive evaluation about child) among mothers of children with autism (p<0. 05). Findings suggest that ACT can be effective in promoting self-efficacy of mothers of children with autism and may have promise in helping mothers better adjust to the difficulties in raising such children.