Are parents showing pushy parenting traits on online discussion forums?

More parents are turning to online discussion forums for security, advice, support, empowerment and to share their parenting experiences. This naturalistic setting is becoming more prominent form of data collection within psychological research, observing human behaviour in natural manner. Many parenting styles are widely acknowledged, but little research has been performed surrounding pushy parenting. Pushy parenting behaviours can be evident and associated within an educational context. Therefore, this study aims to explore online discussion forums for evidence of pushy parenting behavioural traits. Content analytical approaches were applied on a poplar parenting website Mumsnet. A coding scheme was devised from the existing literature and was applied to one hundred discussions from nine threads related to education where there was clear evidence of pushy parenting characteristics. 2x2 Chi-square tests were run to establish any significant relationships between the variables stated as the hypotheses. Findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between the gender of the child and pushy parenting, the orientation displayed towards the child and the child’s educator and whether the behaviour is considered in the child’s best interests and the reasons given making the behaviour justifiable

Online Information-Seeking Behaviours of Men Experiencing Fertility Difficulties

This thesis aims to understand the online information-seeking behaviours of men and how they make sense of and find meaning during their fertility journeys. This research contributes to understanding how online digital tools can support men to fulfil their sense-making and meaning-making needs when they experience fertility difficulties. Research that explores support for pregnancy planning and fertility has predominantly focused on women, and men’s views and experiences are often excluded. A review of existing literature revealed that men were likely to seek digital sources of health-related information for ease and privacy. However, it is yet to be understood how digital tools can best support this population or the opportunities where digital tools would be preferred and used by men. Therefore, this thesis used a qualitative approach to investigate men’s needs when they experienced fertility difficulties and how these needs could be fulfilled using digital tools. Men were found to mainly want information and both practical and emotional support during this time, which led to an instantiation of the ‘finding a new normal’ model based on the analysis of online forum data. Further analysis revealed that this model is also relevant for men outside online forums. Findings from the interview study led to the development of a novel presentation of the fertility journey represented by 9 stages from trying to conceive to conception, through interactions with health services as experienced by men. I highlight how men’s information needs evolve along their fertility journey and how they make sense of and find meaning in information to support the acceptance of a new normal. Participants identified their preference for information to be presented and made available through digital means; therefore, men’s needs were translated into requirements for a digital tool. An evaluation study found that existing digital tools do not completely fulfil men’s evolving requirements for information and support and there is an opportunity for digital tools to be better designed to support men to make sense of, and find meaning in, online information when they experience fertility difficulties