Attitude of adoptive and biological parents to tactile interaction with children

Introduction. The problem of children's adaptation to foster families remains relevant for many years all over the world. However, there is now evidence that humans have two tactile systems, one of which is social and is activated by slow, gentle touch. The idea arose that adoptive parents could be taught such touches using the example of a special massage. But for this you need to know the attitude of parents towards touch in principle. That is why the purpose of this study was to study parents’ attitudes towards tactile interaction with children. Methodology. 277 foster and biological parents (M=39.9; SD=7.6) completed a survey using Google Forms that included 48 statements scored on a psychometric Likert scale. The work used theoretical (analysis, comparison and synthesis), empirical (survey) and statistical (correlation, regression and factor analysis using the SPSS 21 software package) research methods. Results and discussion. Significant inconsistency was found regarding physical sanctions among all groups of respondents. Thus, by unanimously declaring a negative attitude towards punishing the children of other children, respondents allow this to happen to themselves (Ro=-0.603, p<0.001), which affects the personal impact of the child’s development (Ro=-0.508, p<0.001). All mothers reported detecting excessive tactile contact with the child (Ro=0.544, p<0.001). The 4-factor model shows an ambiguous attitude of respondents towards gentle, tactile interaction with both their children and parents in their own childhood (KMO=0.792; p<0.000; 63.1%). Signs of emotional burnout are observed in all parents, but are especially pronounced in adopted ones (p=0.007; R2 =0.056; DW=1.633; r=0.236). Conclusion. Before inviting parents to try massage based on gentle tactile interactions with children, it is necessary to provide training in methods of rewarding and punishing children within the family without violence. A burnout prevention program is needed for all parents.