Self-Review of Parenting Styles: Experiences in a Group of Socially Vulnerable Mothers in Northern Brazil

Abstract

This study presents a proposal for a group intervention with mothers of children from six to twelve years old in a situation of social vulnerability. We aimed to encourage the participants to identify the parenting style they adopt and alternatives for action, test changes in behavior between group meetings and evaluate the results of their efforts. The qualitative field research described corresponds to one of the groups created in 2018 in the context of an action research implemented at the University of Amazônia (UNAMA), Belém, located in Northern Brazil. We selected five participants who were present in at least 60% of the ten weekly meetings held in a group of mothers formed at the UNAMA psychology school clinic. Verbal exchanges in meetings and individual interviews supported the realization of content analysis, based on the formation of analysis categories corresponding to three parenting styles: authoritative or democratic, authoritarian and permissive. We noticed a growing movement of the participants towards the adoption of assertive and empathetic attitudes, combining display of affection with the establishment of consistent rules and limits. We conclude that changes towards the adoption of an authoritative parenting style generated positive impacts on family relationships based on the understanding of the role of model identified by the participants in themselves. Social skills made a difference in the family and led to developments in the behavior of children at school, indicating that it is a way to overcome the situation of social vulnerability in which they find themselves.