The Relationship between the Containing Functions of Mothers and Children's Playfulness and Aggressive Tendency *

This paper set out to explore the effect of the containing function of mothers (with 48-72 month -old children) on children's tendency to aggressive behaviors and playfulness in 184 mother -child dyads from nursery classes in primary and secondary schools and from kindergartens. The data were collected using a correlational survey design. The levels of containing functions were measured with the Parent -Child Containing Function Scale (PCCFS) developed by Zabc & imath; et al. (2018), and children's aggressive tendency was assessed using the Aggression Tendency Scale (ATS) developed by Kaynak et al. (2016). Developed by Barnett (1990) and adapted to Turkish culture by Kele & scedil; and Yurt (2017), the Children's Playfulness Scale (CPS) was employed to analyze children's disposition to play. The analysis of the data was conducted using the software program SPSS 26. The results of Pearson's Correlational Analysis indicated no relationship between containing function levels of mothers and children's playfulness. A remarkably significant negative correlation, however, was observed between containing function levels and children's aggressive impulses. Additionally, maternal education significantly affected their containing functions, and children's aggressive tendency scores significantly predicted the containing function scores of mothers.