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Parental Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Help for Their Children: A Community Sample from the Sultanate of Oman

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Abstract

Emotional and behavioural problems are common among children and adolescents, and have ongoing implications for children, families and the community. While many evidence based prevention programs and interventions have been evaluated, the availability of these does not guarantee their utilization as only a small number of children access existing services. Research indicates that children’s underutilization of services is influenced by their parents since it is the parents who make the decision to initiate or terminate health services for the child. The aim of this study was to explore parental attitudes towards childhood emotional and behavioural difficulties, beliefs about the causes of children’s problem, and their levels of satisfaction with available services. Participants in this study were a community sample of 204 parents of 4–14 year-old children from Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. Parents completed a series of structured questionnaires. Results showed that education level did not influence parents’ attributions for child behaviour problems. In addition, parents with higher education and income had more positive attitudes towards service utilization. Examining factors contributing to children’s service utilization from the parents’ perspective is important as findings have implications for types of programs that could be delivered to the community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Alina Morawska & Alya Sultan

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  1. Alina Morawska
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  2. Alya Sultan
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Correspondence to Alina Morawska.

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The Triple P—Positive Parenting Program is owned by The University of Queensland. The University, through its main technology transfer company, UniQuest Pty Ltd., has licensed Triple P International Pty Ltd. to publish and disseminate the program worldwide. Royalties stemming from published Triple P resources are distributed in accordance with the University’s intellectual property policy and flow to the Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, and contributory authors. No author has any share or ownership in Triple P International Pty Ltd. Alina Morawska is an author of various Triple P resources.

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Morawska, A., Sultan, A. Parental Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Help for Their Children: A Community Sample from the Sultanate of Oman. J Child Fam Stud 25, 979–987 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0257-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0257-9

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