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COPYRIGHT 2002 Eastern Mediterranean University
Abstract
Since the number of employed mothers has steadily increased in Northern Cyprus, the need for non-parental caregiving has also increased. The lack of adequate numbers of childcare centres, and the widespread belief that children under the age of three ore more loved and better tended by family members and close relatives, have led to the involvement of a greater number of grandparents as caretakers during daytime.
The aim of the present research is to investigate parental behavior towards children and toddler's reactions towards their parents as reported by Turkish Cypriot parents. The sample consists of 68 children whose ages vary between 12 and 36 months. The instrument used in the data collection is the "Baby's Day Test" (Balleyguier, 1979); adapted from French to Turkish by Mertan (1995; 1997) with computerized scoring. The results showed that maternal employment has some impact on children's social and emotional development.
Key words: Child development, employed mothers, child care
Ozet
Bircok ulkede aldugu gibi Kuzey Kibris'ta da calisan annelerin yogun ve giderek artan bir bicimde is dunyasinda yer almalariyla, kres ve gunduz bakim evlerine olan gereksinim de artmistir. Okuloncesi egitim merkezleri konusunda gelismekte olan Kuzey Kibris'ta yeterli sayida kres ve gunduz bakim merkezlerinin bulunmamasi, ayrica 3 yas alti cocuklarin, yakin aile bireyleri ve/veya yakin akrabalar tarafindan daha fazla ilgi ve sevgiyle buyutulebilecegi inancinin buyuk bir cogunluk tarafindan benimsenmesi, bakici-buyukanne sayisinin yayginlasmasina neden olmustur.
Bu arastirmanin amaci, aileler tarafindan rapor edildigi uzere, siralama donemine (toddlerhood) giren cocuklarin ailelerine karsi tepkileri ve ailelerin cocuklarina karsi davranislarini incelemektir. Gerek sosyal cevre ozelliklerinin, gerekse cocugun sosyal ve duygusal davranislarinin olculmesinde Cocuk Gunlugu Testi (Balleyguier, 1979) kullanilmistir. Arastirmada yaslari 12 ile 36 ay arasinda degisen toplam 68 denek kullanilmistir.
Anahtar kelimeler: Cocuk gelisimi, calisan anne, cocuk bakimi
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During the last three decades there has been an ongoing concern in the literature about the effects of maternal employment on children's social and emotional development. The main research question, which is repeatedly addressed regarding child development, is whether maternal employment and/or non-maternal childcare are detrimental to children's social and emotional development. Two opposing views on the issue, both backed up by empirical evidence, have been expressed. One of these views asserts that non-parental day care for more than 20 hours per week for much of the first year of life may constitute a risk factor for infant-mother attachment and for later social and emotional development (Belsky, 1988a; 1988b; Belsky & Rovine, 1988). The alternative view states that non-parental day care can possibly be beneficial on aspects of social development, even when such day care starts early during infancy (e.g. Andersson, 1989; 1992). Recently, however, new interests have emerged emphasising not only the presence/absence of maternal employment and/or the nature of day care per se but the conditions under which these occur. (e.g. Clark-Stewart, Gruber & Fitzgerald, 1994; Etaugh, 1993; Roggman, Langlois, Hubbs-Tait & Reiser-Danner, 1994). Within this approach, social and emotional development is studied particularly in relation to age and sex of the child, ethnic background of the family, family structure and intra-family relations, the conditions and contexts of the mother's work situation, and the quality and variety of childcare arrangements.
The social and emotional development of the child is defined and operationalized by Balleyguier (1979) as a pattern of emotional expression and/ or organization. She described the behavioral manifestations of this underlying emotional organization in terms of intensity, control, and behavioral orientation. Balleyguier's (1979) interest in temperament led to the development of an instrument called "Baby's Day Test" that has been successfully employed in studies on the emotional style of children in day care settings (Balleyguier 1988; 1996; Balleyguier & Malhuish, 1996; Balleyguier & Meudec, 1996; Balleyguier, Majunow, GodeauRebiers & Mertan, 1992, 1994). These studies were carried out in France, which has a long history of day care and nursery schools (les salles d' asile) since 1880 and has relatively high maternal employment among European countries (Maruani, 1992; Pierrehumbert, 1992). Currently, at the end of maternal leave, most of the employed French mothers' babies by the age of two months had been cared for 40 hours per week in day care centers or in family day care homes. Even the mothers of those children who are employed part-time or do not have paid employment very often send their children to these centers for 15-20 hours a week.
Like elsewhere, in Northern Cyprus, the effect of maternal employment on child development is becoming an intriguing question. However, due to the existing political situation in the country, Turkish Cypriot women's participation at the international level is very rarely cited (IWRAW, 1995). In the following paragraph a brief description of the Turkish Cypriot women's position will be presented.
During the last three decades, Northern Cyprus, with its 200,000 inhabitants and 3400...
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