The effects of mother-child relationship and mother's personality traits on Child's emotional and behavioral well-being

Abstract

Objective

The quality of mother-child interaction and the mother's personality traits are important in defining the consequent effects on the child's emotional and behavioral well-being. This study aims to investigate the effects of the mother-child relationship and the mother's personality traits (Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, Openness, and Neuroticism) on a child's emotional and behavioral well-being.

Methods

Data were collected using a four-section questionnaire completed by a convenient sample of 274 mothers who were included in this cross-sectional study.

Results

The results indicated that the quality of the mother-child relationship has an effect on a child's emotional and behavioral well-being since a close mother-child relationship is good for a child's well-being whereas a conflictual mother-child relationship makes emotional symptoms and behavioral issues worse. Conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness are three personality traits of a mother that significantly reduce the emotional and/or behavioral issues in her child.

Conclusion

For a more accurate evaluation of children's well-being, future studies should take into account the perspective of other various informants of children's well-being including children themselves, their fathers, and teachers.