The primary purpose of this study is to examine transactional relationships among children's negative emotionality, mothers' depression, and parenting behavior using the autoregressive cross-lagged model. Methods: Data were drawn from the 2nd (T1) through 4th (T3) wave (2009-2011) of the Panel Study on Korean Children (PSKC). A total of 1,535 mothers of 1-to 3-year-old children participated in this study. Results: First, mothers' parenting behavior at T1 and T2 had significant effects on children's negative emotionality at T2 and T3, respectively, whereas children's negative emotionality did not predict the mothers' parenting behavior. Second, transactional relationships were confirmed between mothers' depression and parenting behavior from T1 to T3. Third, transactional relationships were found between children's negative emotionality and mothers' depression from T1 to T3. Lastly, children's negative emotionality at T1 and parenting behavior at T3 were mediated by mothers' depression at T2. Conclusion: The present study found that the parent effects in the relationship between children's negative emotionality and mothers' parenting behaviors, and identified the transactional relationships between children's negative emotionality and maternal depression, as well as between maternal depression and parenting behavior in early years of life.

This study was conducted in order to develop and validate a school adjustment scale for school-aged children. Methods: Data were collected from a sample of 4th, 5th and 6th grade students in five elementary schools located in Seoul. A total of 1,055 children were administered a school adjustment scale with 97 items. After a series of analyses, 30 items were retained. The validity of these items was verified by 1,082 children. Data were analyzed by means of exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and correlation analysis. Results: The results of factor analysis identified four factors Academic Attitude/Rule Observance, Relationships with Peers, Relationships with Teachers, and School Satisfaction. Cronbach's α ranged from .91 to .93, indicating a high level of internal consistency. Concurrent validity was established using correlations of children's school adjustment with mothers' parenting behaviors and children's social competence, self-esteem, and ego resilience. Cross-validation was also verified for the four subscales. Conclusion: Considering its reliability and validity, the scale evaluated in the current study would serve as a useful tool for assessing school adjustment in late childhood.

Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to examine direct effects of maternal childhood attachment and paternal involvement on parenting behavior, and indirect effects through maternal parenting efficacy. Methods: A total of 310 participants, mothers of 6-to 15-month-old infants, responded to questionnaires, which included items related to maternal childhood attachment, paternal involvement, maternal parenting efficacy, and parenting behavior. Data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The major findings of the study were summarized as follows: First, maternal childhood attachment and paternal involvement had direct effects on maternal parenting behavior. Second, maternal childhood attachment and paternal involvement had indirect effects on parenting behavior through maternal parenting efficacy. Conclusions: This study reveals the importance of maternal childhood attachment and paternal involvement, and maternal parenting efficacy in increasing maternal sensitivity and positive parenting behaviors. It emphasizes the relative effects of maternal parenting efficacy on parenting behavior. The results of this study offer the foundation in designing parenting education programs for parents with infants in order to enhance maternal parenting behavior.

The present study employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design model in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Respected Parents & Respected Children (RPRC) parent education program for mothers of early school-age children. Ninety mothers were randomly assigned to an intervention (n =45) group or a control group (n = 45). Mothers in the intervention group participated in 8 weekly sessions of the parent education program. After the termination of the program, the differences between pretest and posttest were analyzed in terms of both maternal parenting characteristics (i.e., parenting behavior, parenting efficacy, parenting stress, and co-parenting) and children's social competence. The results indicated that only in the intervention group, self-reported positive parenting characteristics were significantly improved and negative parenting characteristics were significantly decreased. There were no significant effects of the program on children's social competence as rated by the mothers. These findings suggest that the RPRC parent education program is effective in changing parenting characteristics known as crucial predictors of child outcomes.

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