Adultcentrism is the tendency of adults to view children from a biased perspective,
hindering the recognition of children's competence and agency. It presents a challenge
for parents, potentially influencing parenting practices and children's participation
in decision‐making. Adultcentrism has received increasing attention in the literature,
and with its recent operationalization, a new focus has emerged. However, adultcentrism
has remained unexplored in Hungary. Using the Adultcentrism Scale, we aimed to conceptualize
adultcentrism in this sociocultural context and validate the instrument in a different
language, both for the first time. A cross‐sectional sample of 422 parents was surveyed
online to analyse adultcentrism in Hungary and identify whether adult‐centric thinking
is associated with less‐positive parenting behaviour. Our findings showed that extreme
adult‐centric biases are rare among Hungarian parents and indicated that adult‐centric
thinking has two major dimensions in our context. Firstly—and dominantly—adults tend
to think about children as ‘becoming’ rather than ‘being’. Secondly, they tend to
underestimate children's agency. The present conceptualization challenged the role
of seeing children as incompetent in the construct. Adultcentrism indicated a weak
positive association with parental perceptions of children's participation in decision‐making
and positive parenting behaviours. However, it was not associated with negative behaviours,
except for physical control. Our findings support the latest research that emphasizes
that a certain level of adultcentrism is natural and presents thought‐provoking dilemmas
regarding the understanding and measurement of adultcentrism in the Hungarian context.
The study has implications for researchers analysing and theorizing this evolving
construct and practitioners who want to improve the adult–child relationship.
