Determining the Children’s Behavioral Problems Model based on Object Relations: Mediation of Five Personality Factors

Background: The important identity-preceding structure is the self, a personality structure formed out of interpersonal interactions. The self is formed in infancy and early childhood out of the internalized and ’metabolized’ interactions between the child and significant others. Objectives: The present study aimed to determine children’s behavioral problems based on object relations with the mediating role of five personality factors. Methods: The present study was conducted based on a structural equation correlation design. The statistical population included all children and their parents living in the 1st and 2nd districts of Tehran in 2020-2021, who were selected via convenience sampling method. Data collection tools were Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI), The Child Behavior Checklist/4-18, and NEO Personality Inventory (Short Form). The data were analyzed in SPSS (version 27) and Smart PLS 3 software packages with the structural equation model method. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Based on the drawn model, the mediator variable in the model was significant, and the value of the path coefficient increased due to the mediator variable. Moreover, in the Sobel test, the mediating effect of a variable was significant at a 95% confidence level. The Z-value for fathers’ personality traits was equal to 6.52. Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, it is recommended that more emphasis be placed on parenting in clinical practice and the development of parenting interventions for parents of children with emotional and behavioral problems based on object relations.