Comparing the Self-Control and Behavioral Problems of Girls in Employed and Unemployed Mothers

Abstract

This research aims to compare styles of self-control and behavioral problems of girls in employed and unemployed mothers. In this research that was done using casual-comparison method (after events) 100 employed mothers and 100 unemployed ones of girls of elementary schools in district 4 of Tehran were selected as the sample based on cluster-random method. Self-control questionnaire (Allahverdipour et al., 2005) and children’s behavioral problem questionnaire (parental form, 1994) were used for information collection that was previously normalized in studies conducted in Iran and its validity has been confirmed. In this research, reliability of the questionnaire was assessed through Cronbach alpha and was confirmed with a high reliability of 0.80. The t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that the average of self-control in employed mothers is significantly more than that in unemployed mothers. Also, the results showed that there is a statistically significant difference between girls of employed and unemployed women in hyperactivity and aggression, anxiety and depression, disorder, and lack of attention. This research confirms that employment of women results in enhancement of behavioral disorder among children. It is suggested that policy makers and planners in the country must pay attention to this point.