title: Family Conflict and Resilience in Parenting Self-Efficacy Among High-Risk Mothers.
abstract: Mothers with a history of institutional care in adolescence are often involved in high-conflict partner relationships, which may undermine relationships with children and confidence in oneself as a parent. Not all mothers think of themselves as bad parents under these circumstances. We turned to psychological resources as an explanation, focusing on mothers' trait self-control. The negative association between family conflict and parenting self-efficacy was tested for moderation by self-control among 104 mothers with a history of institutionalization for behavioral problems and delinquency during adolescence. We found a negative association between current family conflict and parenting self-efficacy among mothers with low self-control, and no significant association among mothers with high self-control. This study draws attention to the needs of high-risk mothers in their parenting role and demonstrates that self-control is a potential resource for mothers to balance the load presented by conflict in their families. The findings suggest new avenues for intervention.
authors.affiliation: 1 VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julie F H
authors.initials: JFH
authors.lastname: Cassé
authors.affiliation: 1 VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Catrin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Finkenauer
authors.affiliation: 1 VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oosterman
authors.affiliation: 1 VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.|2 Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Victor R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: van der Geest
authors.affiliation: 1 VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schuengel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents; D020377:Self Efficacy
keywords: anything related to domestic violence; intergenerational transmission of trauma; mental health and violence; violence exposure