Change and predictors of change in parental self-efficacy from early to middle adolescence.

Abstract

Parental self-efficacy (PSE) describes parents' beliefs about being able to handle developmentally specific issues and being able to influence their child in a way that fosters the child's positive development and adjustment (Bandura, 1997). Parents of adolescents have been shown to feel less efficacious than parents of preadolescent children (Ballenski & Cook, 1982), but little is known about the factors behind low levels of PSE among parents of adolescents. This study examined mean-level changes in PSE and predictors of change among parents of adolescents. The sample was derived from a 3-wave longitudinal data set of 398 parents of children starting spanning early (11 or 12 years) to middle (14 or 15 years) adolescence (47% boys). Latent growth curve analysis was performed, and it was hypothesized that theoretically driven predictors reflecting the developing child, as well as the ecological context, would predict the level of PSE. Despite generally high levels of PSE across all time points, parents decreased in PSE during the developmental period. Some predictors were of particular importance for the level and amount of change in PSE, such as physical changes in the child, parents' target-based expectations for risk taking during adolescence, the quality of parent-adolescent communication, and ethnicity. This study adds insight into the development of PSE during the critical transitional period of early and middle adolescence. The findings advance theory of PSE, as it illuminates why some parents' decrease in PSE more than do other parents.

The Relationship Between Personality and Parental Confidence in Mothers of School-Aged Children

“…Ethnicity is one particularly interesting parenting context that has been found to be related to parental confidence, particularly for African American parents. In a longitudinal study of almost 400 parents of adolescents, Glatz and Buchanan (2015) found that higher levels of parenting efficacy were reported by African American parents versus White parents, but that these levels declined over time. Similarly, Hill and Tyson (2008) found that at initial assessment when the children were in Kindergarten, African American mothers reported higher parenting efficacy than White mothers, even considering multiple contextual factors.…”

Adolescents’ Behaviors as Moderators for the Link between Parental Self-Efficacy and Parenting Practices

“…This measure has been used in previous studies and has shown to predict parenting practices (Glatz and Buchanan 2015a, b). Parents rated how much they thought they could influence the target adolescent, and the following are example items: “To get the child to stay out of trouble in school,” and “To prevent the child from doing things they do not want him or her to do outside the home.” Parents responded on a Likert scale ranging from 1 ( Very little ) to 7 ( A great deal ).…”

“…We focused on early adolescence, as this is a time when PSE is at especially low levels (Ballenski and Cook 1982; Glatz and Buchanan 2015b), which have been shown to have negative consequences for parenting practices among parents of children in this age range (Glatz and Buchanan 2015a). We expected that higher levels of PSE would predict more promotive parenting especially when parents face more difficult behaviors in the target adolescent.…”

Parental Self‐Efficacy for Reducing the Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety: Scale Development and Validation

“…The onset of mood and anxiety disorders during this critical period of development can result in deleterious consequences, such as impairing social, emotional, and functional development, as well as increasing the likelihood of school absences and suicide (Asselmann, Wittchen, Lieb, & Beesdo‐Baum, ; Carballo et al., ; Lawrence et al., ). For parents, even if their children do not experience such disorders, the task of guiding their offspring from childhood to adolescence can be daunting, and the early adolescent developmental period marks a low point in parental confidence in their parenting abilities (Glatz & Buchanan, ). Parents continue to play an important role in providing adolescents with the structure and support they require to flourish during a time of rapid neurological, physical, emotional, and social change (Patton et al., ).…”

“…The 15 items in the adolescent subsection assess parental comfort in managing tasks such as “dealing with your child's moodiness,” “helping your child to leave home,” and “helping your child establish some direction in his/her life.” The items were developed based on parenting books, primarily those by Duvall () and Havighurst (). The adolescent subsection of this measure has been used in several recent studies (e.g., Glatz & Buchanan, , ) and is helpful in measuring PSE in relation to managing adolescent behaviors and helping adolescents to reach their developmental milestones. However, it does not include items assessing PSE in relation to parenting behaviors that recent research has suggested are important in preventing internalizing disorders in adolescents, such as parental warmth and involvement (Yap et al., ).…”