TY - JOUR
T1 - Direct and indirect effects from parenting self-efficacy and parenting practices to social-emotional adjustment in 3- to 5-year-old children
AU - Trecca, Fabio
AU - Bleses, Dorthe
AU - Højen, Anders
AU - Laursen, Brett Paul
N1 - Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - Parenting self-efficacy has been tied to myriad child outcomes during middle childhood and adolescence, directly and indirectly through parenting practices. The present study examines contemporaneous associations between parenting self-efficacy, parenting practices, and child outcomes during the preschool years in a community sample of 1455 Danish parents (76.7 % mothers) of 3–5-year-old children (49 % girls). Parents (M = 39.2 years old) completed a survey describing parenting self-efficacy and three facets of parenting practices: inductive reasoning, psychological control, and instrumental reward. Parents also described child adjustment in four domains: prosocial behavior, hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Results revealed direct concurrent associations between parenting self-efficacy and each child outcome, with greater efficacy tied to more prosocial behavior and less hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Parent psychological control mediated associations from parenting self-efficacy to child hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Inductive reasoning mediated associations from parenting self-efficacy to child prosocial behavior. Consistent with previous findings from older children, parental use of psychological control had debilitating consequences for preschool children. Inductive reasoning, in contrast, appeared to promote positive development.
AB - Parenting self-efficacy has been tied to myriad child outcomes during middle childhood and adolescence, directly and indirectly through parenting practices. The present study examines contemporaneous associations between parenting self-efficacy, parenting practices, and child outcomes during the preschool years in a community sample of 1455 Danish parents (76.7 % mothers) of 3–5-year-old children (49 % girls). Parents (M = 39.2 years old) completed a survey describing parenting self-efficacy and three facets of parenting practices: inductive reasoning, psychological control, and instrumental reward. Parents also described child adjustment in four domains: prosocial behavior, hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Results revealed direct concurrent associations between parenting self-efficacy and each child outcome, with greater efficacy tied to more prosocial behavior and less hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Parent psychological control mediated associations from parenting self-efficacy to child hyperactivity, conduct problems, and emotional problems. Inductive reasoning mediated associations from parenting self-efficacy to child prosocial behavior. Consistent with previous findings from older children, parental use of psychological control had debilitating consequences for preschool children. Inductive reasoning, in contrast, appeared to promote positive development.
KW - Inductive reasoning
KW - Parenting self-efficacy
KW - Preschool children
KW - Psychological control
KW - Social-emotional skills
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134991144&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103673
DO - 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103673
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 35907269
SN - 0001-6918
VL - 229
JO - Acta Psychologica
JF - Acta Psychologica
M1 - 103673
ER -