The Effect of Seasonal Agricultural Worker Mothers' Maternal Gatekeeping Status on Their Emotional Abuse Potential Toward Their 3-6 Years Old Children

Development is a lifelong process. The roots of this process are formed from early childhood development. The biggest responsibility at this point also lies with the parents. The attitudes adopted in child raising have a direct effect on the personality development of children. From birth, the mother is responsible for caring for the child, creating a special bond between mother and child. The bond established with the father also supports the development of children. However, the mother may sometimes be an obstacle, consciously or unconsciously, in the child's bonding with the father. This obstacle is reflected in the concept of "maternal gatekeeping." "Maternal gatekeeping" not only affects the bonding process but can also lead to the emotional neglect of children. There may be various variables in the formation of maternal gatekeeping. Within the scope of this study, the emotional abuse potential of seasonal agricultural worker mothers, who are among the disadvantaged groups, towards their children aged 3-6 years in the context of maternal gatekeeping was examined in terms of various variables. Participants were administered the Socio-demographic Information Form, Preschool Period (3-6 Years) Maternal Gatekeeping Scale (MLSS): Mother Form, Emotional Abuse Potential Scale for Parents with Children of Age. The statistical analyses of the study were conducted using SPSS 25.00 and the Independent Samples t-test, a one-way analysis variance test when comparing according to demographic variables, and a Scheffe test after the variance analysis. According to the findings of the study, significant differences were found when age, years of marriage, educational status, family type, number of children, emotional abuse, and maternal gatekeeping scores were compared.