Family factors and parenting in Ukraine

Abstract

The present study aimed to estimate the use of positive and negative parenting practices in Ukraine and explore relationships between parenting practices, intimate partner violence (IPV), alcohol use, and sociodemographics. Parents of children (N=320) ages 9-16 from three Ukrainian regions answered questions from the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-R), Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale (FACES), and the Alcohol Use Section of the Drinking and Drug History and Current Use Patterns questionnaire. Ukrainian parents who reported lower use of alcohol, balanced family functioning and lower intimate partner violence were more likely to use positive parenting and less likely to use negative parenting practices. Parents with lower education were more likely to use negative parenting practices. Furthermore, alcohol use, IPV, parent education and higher family income were significantly and indirectly related with positive and negative parenting scores. The model explained 61% of variance in the positive parenting, 67% in the negative parenting.

Keywords: Alcohol use; Family systems; IPV; Negative and positive parenting; SEM; Ukraine.