Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, cilt.25, sa.1, ss.74-87, 2023 (Hakemli Dergi)
Sexual development begins in the mother's womb and is affected by other environmental factors, especially parental attitude, with birth. This research aims to reveal fathers' attitudes on sexual development and the demographic variables (child’s age, child’s sex, number of children, father's age, father's education level, socioeconomic level) that affect these attitudes. This study is in the quantitative research approach and the descriptive model. The study group consists of 190 fathers who have children aged 3-6. The data were collected on the internet by using the 'Information Form' and the 'Parental Attitude Scale'. While analyzing the data, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey test analysis were used. According to the findings, it is seen that there is a significant relationship between the variables of child’s sex, number of children, father's education level, socioeconomic level, and fathers' attitudes towards sexual development. There was no significant relationship between the age of the father, the age of the child, and the father's attitude. It is seen that the mean scores of the fathers' attitudes towards sexual development are in the range of neutral-positive attitudes. While fathers generally had a positive attitude towards children's sexual questions and sexual behaviors, they had a negative attitude towards social norms.