The relationship between maternal self-efficacy and parenting practices: implications for parent training.
The present study examined the relationship between maternal self-efficacy, dysfunctional discipline practices and child conduct problems. Specifically, three levels of self-efficacy, global, domain and task-specific self-efficacy, were assessed in mothers of 2- to 8-year-old children with conduct problems (clinic group, n=45) and non-clinic mothers from the community (non-clinic group, n=79). Measures of global, domain and task-specific self-efficacy were completed by mothers. Clinic mothers reported significantly lower self-efficacy than non-clinic mothers for all but one of the parenting tasks assessed. Both groups of mothers reported lowest self-efficacy for similar parenting tasks. In the sample as a whole self-efficacy measures were significant predictors of maternal discipline style after controlling for other parent, child and risk factors. Of the self-efficacy variables behavioural self-efficacy was the best predictor of mothers discipline style. The findings support the importance of developing parenting strategies that enable parents to generalize their parenting skills to a diverse range of diverse parenting contexts both in the home and in the community.
Sanders
M R
MR
Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. matts@psy.uq.edu.au
Woolley
M L
ML
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D012938:Social Perception; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology