Parenthood and Parenting in Croatia A Developmental and Socio-Cultural Perspective

Parental behavior and the experience of parenthood have been areas of study worldwide for the last hundred years (and in Croatia for about forty years). Researchers started with the exploration of parental behavior and parenting styles, but a few decades later the research was broadened to include the experience of parenthood. Previously, when developmental psychology generally meant child psychology, the parenting phenomenon was hardly observed. After developmental psychology became a lifetime phenomenon, parenting was studied in all developmental stages. However, the first phase of parenting is still dominant in research. This fact is reflected in the contents of this monograph, which is a representative of Croatia's most important theoretical and empirical research. The results of some of the research included have had a significant impact on social institutions that deal with issues of family, education and health. Special characteristics in the above mentioned research are: a) Earlier research, which was conducted mainly among mothers, was recently replaced by studies that include joint maternal and paternal influences and their distinct impact on the development of children as well as the effects of parental conflicts on the psychosocial functioning of children. b) Research of parenting and parenthood using a recent theoretical approach to parenting as well as the theory based research designs. c) Critical observations about the shortcomings in published research are presented while future directions of research are proposed.