Prediction of Elementary School Student’s Machiavellian Beliefs by Parenting Styles The Prediction of Machiavellian beliefs of elementary students based on parenting styles

The purpose of this research was to explore the role of the children's Machiavellian beliefs in predicting parenting styles. The research method was descriptive statistical population included all fourth and fifth grade elementary school students and their mothers in the academic year in Isfahan in 2014-2015. Therefore 361 (177 boys and 184 girls) elementary school students and their mothers were selected as the sample using cluster random sampling from the five areas of education.Research tools included Parenting Styles Questionnaire (Baumrind, 1972) and Machiavellian Beliefs Scale for Children (Christie & Geis, 1970).The data was analyzed using by stepwise regression. The results of regression analysis showed that authoritarian parenting style is 16% can predict Machiavellian beliefs in this level (p< 0.01). According to the results of this study can be said the authoritarian parenting style has a negative effect on children’s Cognitive development and their social behaviors because of its authoritarian governing structure, lack of discussion, and Lack of attention to children's needs.