title: Behavioral competence among mothers of infants in the first year: the mediational role of maternal self-efficacy.
abstract: This study tests the idea that mothers' self-efficacy beliefs mediate the effects on parenting behavior of variables such as depression, perceptions of infant temperamental difficulty, and social-marital supports. Subjects were 48 clinically depressed and 38 nondepressed mothers observed in interaction with their 3-13-month-old infants (M = 7.35 months). As predicted, maternal self-efficacy beliefs related significantly to maternal behavioral competence independent of the effects of other variables. When the effects of self-efficacy were controlled, parenting competence no longer related significantly to social-marital supports or maternal depression. In addition, maternal self-efficacy correlated significantly with perceptions of infant difficulty after controlling for family demographic variables. These results suggest that maternal self-efficacy mediates relations between maternal competence and other psychosocial variables and may play a crucial role in determining parenting behavior and infant psychosocial risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Baltimore County 21228.
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Teti
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Gelfand
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010553:Personality Development; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D013694:Temperament