The Relationship Between Participating in Online Parenting Communities and Health-Promoting Behaviors for Children Among First-Time Mothers: The Mediating Effect of Parental Efficacy

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the mediating effects of parental efficacy on the relationship between participating in online parenting communities and health-promoting behaviors for children among first-time mothers with infants and toddlers.Methods: The participants were 174 first-time mothers who used online parenting communities. Data were collected through self-report online questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, 1-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis were performed. The significance of the mediating effect was verified using the Sobel test and PROCESS macro.Results: Significant predictors for health-promoting behaviors for children among first-time mothers were maternal age, maternity leave, monthly income, weekly use of online communities, daily use of online communities, satisfaction with online communities, and parental efficacy, which explained 51.0% of maternal health-promoting behaviors for children. Parental efficacy partially mediated the relationship between mothers’ satisfaction with using online communities and their health-promoting behaviors for children.Conclusion: Interventions to enhance satisfaction with online parenting communities and parental efficacy should be developed to promote the health of infants and toddlers. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the needs of mothers for child rearing and health care, and develop online parenting communities that can provide qualitative health information and enable safe online interactions between mothers.