Assessing Parenting Styles through Online Forums: A Discourse Analysis Approach using the Meaning of the Child Methodology.

Abstract

This study investigated whether parenting styles can be reliably analyzed from written parenting discourse (such as that posted on online forums) using the Meaning of the Child (MotC) methodology. The research focused on two primary hypotheses: (1) sensitive parenting, as identified through the MotC manual analysis, is associated with lower levels of child difficulties, and (2) parents classified as sensitive using the MotC manual analysis would also be categorized as authoritative based on the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) self-report measure. Data were collected from two online parenting forums, Reddit and Mumsnet, with a total sample of 100 participants. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure child outcomes.

Results supported the first hypothesis, showing that children of parents identified as using sensitive parenting styles (as determined by the MotC manual analysis) exhibited significantly fewer difficulties (F = 20.42, p 0.05). The second hypothesis was also validated, as the Chi-square test revealed a significant association between the MotC manual analysis and the PSDQ scores (χ2 = 4.197, df = 1, 0.05), indicating a high level of agreement between the two measures.

These findings supported the reliability of the MotC manual coding system in identifying sensitive parenting styles from written discourse and highlight the effectiveness of using online data for parenting research. The study also demonstrates the potential of using discourse analysis on online data to provide a scalable and nuanced approach to understanding parenting behaviors. Future research should validate these findings against long-form MotC interviews to determine the validity and applicability of this method.