Abstract

Expectations and satisfactions are two different yet interrelated area. Hence, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of working parent expectation on parenting satisfaction among working parents in Sabah. In addition, this study also examines the differences of the background of respondents in terms of socio-economic status and the level of education towards parenting satisfaction in Sabah. The study employed purposive sampling survey method with questionnaire. It has been distributed to 210 working parents in various sectors around Kota Kinabalu and Beaufort, Sabah. The set of questionnaire used in this study comprising the Parent Comparison Level Index (PCLI) to measure parental expectation and the Parent Satisfaction Scale (PSS) used to measure parenting satisfaction. The data obtained were analyzed using the IBM SPSS version 23 software through simple regression test and one-way ANOVA test according to the objectives of the study. The results of the analysis showed that parental expectations were significantly and positively influencing parenting satisfaction with a contribution of 34.6 percent variance. Whilst, the difference in education level and socio-economic status of parents shows that there is no difference in parenting satisfaction. In conclusion, higher parenting expectation will lead to higher parenting satisfaction. However, parenting satisfaction is not related to the differences in educational background and socioeconomic status of the parents. The implication of this study is toward parents and the aspect involving parenting satisfaction.