THE ROLE OF PARENTS IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY DEVELOPMENT: A QUALITATIVE EXAMINATION OF PARENTS‘ REASONS FOR TALKING ABOUT PAST EXPERIENCES WITH THEIR CHILDREN

Date

2025-8

Author

Yarar, İrem

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

5718
views

0
downloads

Cite This

This study explores the reasons why Turkish mothers and fathers talk about past experiences with their preschool-aged children. By setting qualitative research design, this study aims to examine how parents make sense of memory sharing practices and whether their motivations differ by gender. A total of 71 parents (54 mothers and 17 fathers) participated in the study. The sample predominantly consisted of well-educated, urban, middle-class parents, which may have influenced the ways they approach emotional communication and memory sharing. Parents were asked open-ended questions about their reasons for reminiscing, and their responses were analyzed thematically. In addition, a series of Likert-type items were included to explore general trends, and chi-square tests were conducted to examine the associations between parental gender, child gender, and narrative functions. The results revealed that all parents shared past experiences with their children, mostly to strengthen emotional bonds, teach lessons, and transmit values. While no statistically significant gender differences were found, mothers were more likely to emphasize emotional support, whereas fathers tended to highlight instructive and exemplary functions. These patterns may reflect broader shifts in fatherhood ideals toward more emotionally engaged parenting, particularly among educated and reflective fathers. These findings are discussed within the framework of gendered parenting practices and the sociocultural dynamics of Türkiye. The study contributes to the literature by exploring an important understanding of how autobiographical memory narratives serve developmental and relational purposes in early childhood, which is shaped by both personal and cultural factors.

Subject Keywords

Autobiographical Memory, Parent-Child Reminiscing, Gender Roles, Socialization, Turkish Families

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115550

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis