The Influence of Parental Self-Efficacy and Perceived Control on the Home Learning Environment of Young Children

Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Relation to Caregivers' History of Language and Reading Difficulties and Children's Shared Reading Experiences

PURPOSE

Emerging literature suggests caregiver self-efficacy is an important factor related to caregivers' shared reading practices with their children. Reduced shared reading has been documented among families of caregiver(s) with language-based learning disabilities (LBLD). Yet, it remains unclear whether caregivers' history of language and reading difficulties is associated with caregiver self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-efficacy in language- and reading-related caregiver activities related to caregiver history of language and reading difficulties and shared reading practices.

METHOD

One hundred seventy-six caregivers of children aged 18-60 months completed a custom self-efficacy in language- and reading-related caregiver activities questionnaire, as well as demographic, history of language and reading difficulties (used both as a continuous measure and to dichotomize caregivers with and without LBLD history), and shared reading measures in a one-time survey.

RESULTS

Caregivers with a history of LBLD reported an overall lower self-efficacy and a reduced amount of time reading with their children per week than caregivers without LBLD history. Examining caregiver history of language and reading difficulties continuously across the whole group, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between caregiver difficulties and shared reading practices, even when caregiver education was incorporated as an additional mediator in models.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that self-efficacy and caregiver education mediate the relationship between caregiver history of language and reading difficulties and shared reading practices. Consideration of self-efficacy by clinicians and educators is warranted when promoting shared reading practices to caregivers of young children. There is a need for future research to examine relationships between self-efficacy and shared reading among caregivers with LBLD of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25901590.

A Study on the Sense of Parental Competence, Health Locus of Control and Levels of Anxiety, Depression and Somatization in Parents of Children with Type 1 Diabetes: Evidence on a Possible Relationship

Background: Parents of children with chronic conditions face challenges that go beyond basic care and parenting responsibilities. Parents' experiences can be influenced by perceived stress, emotional experiences, feelings of helplessness, low sense of self-efficacy, anxiety and depression, reducing their quality of life. It is therefore not surprising that parents of children with chronic illnesses are more likely to experience stress, anxiety and depression than parents of healthy children. A prevalent chronic condition is type 1 diabetes. Methods: Parents (31 with children with type 1 diabetes diagnosis and 71 with children without chronic illness) were recruited to complete the measures of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), the Parent Health Locus of Control (PHLOC) and Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC). Results: Significant differences in depression and internal locus of control were found; there was a positive correlation between internal LOC and efficacy in both samples; furthermore, there was a negative correlation between somatization and satisfaction in the experimental group. Conclusions: The ongoing experiences and challenges faced daily make parents perceive themselves as capable. Active involvement in supporting and managing the needs of child with type 1 diabetes could be a source of empowerment for the parent, contributing to the maintenance of their sense of competence. It is important, therefore, to consider the well-being and perception of the parent at a personal level, regardless of the child's situation.

The Parenting Sense of Competence scale: Updating a classic

BACKGROUND

The Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) is a self-report measure of parenting efficacy and satisfaction that is widely used by researchers and clinicians in many countries. Despite its popularity, there have been some criticisms of the instrument. The aims of the current study were to identify and address shortcomings of the PSOC and to produce a revised measure that reflected the original constructs and that demonstrated robust psychometric properties.

METHODS

The researchers examined the original PSOC and proposed changes to overcome identified issues. A sample of 3056 Australian mothers provided data for the revised instrument's factor structure and psychometric analyses.

RESULTS

We identified a number of problems with the original instrument, including factorial inconsistency, and multipart or potentially ambiguous questions. Of particular concern was the fact that all negatively worded items load onto one subscale and all positively worded questions load onto the other subscale. In addressing these issues, we produced a 16-item instrument (the Parenting Sense of Competence-Revised; PSOC-R) with strong internal consistency, excellent test-retest reliability and good evidence of construct validity including factorial validity and criterion-related validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The PSOC-R maintains the intent of the original measure in assessing parenting Efficacy (10 items) and Satisfaction (6 items). It represents improvements in item construction including reductions in complexity, with no multipart items and a lower reading level requirement than previously. Data across four child age groups enhance the instrument's clinical utility.

Associations between parental well-being and early learning at home before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: observations from the China Family Panel Studies

Background

COVID-19-related lockdowns and preschool closures resulted in many young children spending all their time at home. Some parents had to manage child care while working from home, and increased demands may have led them to experience considerable stress. Evidence indicates that among parents with young children, those who had pre-existing mental and physical conditions adapted less well than other parents. We considered associations between parental well-being and the home learning environment for young children.

Method

We leveraged data from the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies. We analyzed longitudinal data collected before (2018) and during (2020) the pandemic. Participants were parents of 1,155 preschoolers (aged 3-5 years in 2020). Moderated mediation models were conducted. Maternal and paternal psychological well-being, depression, physical health, and physical illness in 2018 and 2020 were predictors. The frequency of marital and intergenerational conflicts in 2020 were mediators. Primary caregiver-reported engagement in home learning activities and family educational expenditure and parent-reported time spent on child care in 2020 were outcome variables. The number of COVID-19 cases in each province 3 months before the 2020 assessment was the moderator. Child, parental, and household characteristics and urbanicity were covariates.

Results

Controlling for covariates, improvements in parental psychological well-being predicted more home learning activities and increases in paternal depression predicted less time spent by fathers on child care. Negative changes in maternal physical health predicted less family educational expenditure and mothers spending more time on child care. Family conflicts mediated the association between maternal physical illness in 2018 and family educational expenditure. The number of COVID-19 cases in a province (i) was positively associated with mothers spending more time on child care, (ii) moderated the association of improvements in maternal physical health and mothers spending less time on child care, and (iii) moderated the association of family conflicts and more family educational expenditure.

Conclusion

The findings indicate that decreased parental psychological and physical well-being foretells reductions in monetary and non-monetary investment in early learning and care at home. Regional pandemic risk undermines maternal investment in early learning and care, especially for those with pre-existing physical conditions.

Assessing Shared Reading in Families at Risk: Does Quantity Predict Quality?

PURPOSE

Quantity and quality of early at-home reading shape literacy outcomes. At-home reading frequency is a common outcome measure in interventions. This single measure may not fully capture the quality of early reading interactions, such as parent and child references to print, an important contributor to language and literacy outcomes. This study aims to evaluate if and how reported reading frequency and duration are associated with parent and child print referencing, controlling for perceived parenting self-efficacy, developmental knowledge, and child sex.

METHOD

This study is a secondary analysis of baseline data from a treatment study with parents (N = 30) and children (1;1-2;3 [years;months]) from underresourced households. Parents reported weekly reading episode frequency and duration (in minutes). We coded parent-child book-sharing interactions to quantify use of print references.

RESULTS

Negative binomial regression modeling suggested that parents who reported more weekly reading episodes tended to use more print references during interactions. However, reported reading time in minutes was not significantly associated with parents' print referencing. Parents' print references were also associated with perceived self-efficacy, developmental knowledge, and child sex. In our sample, parents used more print references with male children. Neither reading frequency nor reading time was associated with increased print referencing from children.

CONCLUSIONS

Duration of reading did not positively predict children's use of print references. However, weekly reading frequency positively predicted parents' use of print references. Parent perceived self-efficacy and knowledge may predict early interaction quality similarly to quantity of reading.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.20669094.

Associations Between Children’s Numeracy Competencies, Mothers’ and Fathers’ Mathematical Beliefs, and Numeracy Activities at Home

Children’s numeracy competencies are not only relevant for their academic achievement, but also later in life. The development of early numeracy competencies is influenced by children’s learning environment. Here, the home numeracy environment (HNE) and parent’s own beliefs about mathematics play an important role for children’s numeracy competencies. However, only a few studies explicitly tested these associations separately for mothers and fathers. In our study, we assessed mothers’ and fathers’ mathematical gender stereotypes, self-efficacy and their beliefs on the importance of mathematical activities at home, and tested their associations with parents’ numeracy activities and children’s numeracy competencies in a sample of N = 160 children (n = 80 girls) with an average age of M = 59.15 months (SD = 4.05). Both, fathers and mothers regarded boys as being more competent in mathematics than girls. Fathers when compared to mothers reported a greater mathematical self-efficacy. Further, only mothers’ self-efficacy was associated with the frequency of numeracy activities with the study child. In contrast, only fathers’ beliefs on the importance of mathematics was associated with their numeracy activities which, in turn, predicted children’s numeracy competencies. However, the non-invariant constructs and varying results lead to the question whether a revision of existing scales assessing parental beliefs and home numeracy activities is needed to investigate differences of mothers and fathers and their potential associations with children’s numeracy outcomes.

Parental self-efficacy and satisfaction with parenting as mediators of the association between children’s noncompliance and marital satisfaction

Parents of young children who exhibit behavioral problems often experience lower marital satisfaction. In the present study we aimed to explore the association between preschool children's noncompliant behavior and marital satisfaction, and to explain it through the mediating role of parental self-efficacy and satisfaction with parenting. Participants were 188 married Israeli couples with a typically developing child aged 3 to 6, selected in a convenience sample. Mothers and fathers independently completed measures of child’s behavior, marital satisfaction, parental self-efficacy, and satisfaction with parenting. Data were collected between September 2019 and February 2020 and were analyzed using the common fate model (CFM). Results indicate a direct, negative association between child's noncompliant behavior and marital satisfaction, which was fully explained by parental self-efficacy and satisfaction with parenting. The study suggests that both parents are affected by their young child’s noncompliance, with a spillover effect from the parent–child relationship into the marital relationship. The findings highlight the importance of early treatment of children's noncompliance and indicate that interventions aimed at enhancing parents’ self-efficacy and satisfaction, as well as the inclusion of both parents in treatment, may be beneficial.

Changes in Parents' Home Learning Activities With Their Children During the COVID-19 Lockdown - The Role of Parental Stress, Parents' Self-Efficacy and Social Support

As a result of the abrupt closures of daycare centers in Germany due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents' ability to provide learning opportunities at home became all the more important. Building on the family stress model, the study investigates how parental stress affected changes in parents' provision of home learning activities (HLA) during the lockdown, compared to before the lockdown. In addition, the study considers parental self-efficacy and perceived social support as protective factors that may play important roles in disrupting the negative effects of stress. Data stems from a nation-wide survey of 7,837 German parents of children ages 1-6 years, which was conducted in Spring 2020 during the first wave of COVID-19 infections and at a time of strict restrictions in Germany. Results revealed that parental stress was negatively related to changes in the provision of HLA. Parental self-efficacy and an intact social support system were protective of parental stress during the lockdown. Additionally, parental self-efficacy and - to a larger extend - perceived social support interacted with parental stress in the relation to changes in the provision of HLA. Specifically, self-efficacy and perceived social support acted as protective factors that buffered the negative influence of stress on parents' ability to provide educational activities for their children at home. These results have important implications for supporting families with young children during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of daycare centers.

Change the Things You Can: Modifiable Parent Characteristics Predict High-Quality Early Language Interaction Within Socioeconomic Status

Purpose Understanding variability sources in early language interaction is critical to identifying children whose development is at risk and designing interventions. Variability across socioeconomic status (SES) groups has been extensively explored. However, SES is a limited individual clinical indicator. For example, it is not generally directly modifiable. The purpose of this study was to examine if child language ability, input quantity and quality, and dyadic interaction were associated with modifiable caregiver characteristics-self-efficacy and developmental knowledge. Method We conducted secondary analyses using the baseline data (n = 41 dyads enrolled, n = 30 analyzed) from a longitudinal study. Mothers and children (1;0-2;3 [years;months]) in low-income households completed demographic questionnaires, self-efficacy and developmental knowledge measures, child language assessments, and interaction samples. We used linear regression models to examine the relationship between self-efficacy, developmental knowledge, and outcomes. Results Child receptive and expressive language scores were significantly associated with mothers' self-efficacy, knowledge, and Efficacy × Knowledge interaction. Specifically, maternal self-efficacy was positively associated with child language only in the context of high developmental knowledge. Neither self-efficacy nor developmental knowledge was significantly associated with the number of total or different words mothers produced. However, self-efficacy was significantly and positively associated with the rate of child-initiated conversational turns per minute, controlling for the number of child utterances. Mothers with higher self-efficacy responded more readily to their children than those with lower self-efficacy. Conclusions Child language ability and interaction quality vary based on modifiable parent characteristics. Modifiable individual characteristics should be considered in early language interaction within and across SES groups.

The effect of Kneipp treatment hydrotherapy on secretory IgA in young children: A controlled, non-randomized clinical pilot study

OBJECTIVES

This pilot study analyses the effect and feasibility of hydrotherapeutic Kneipp arm affusions on secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and classic cold symptoms in children 3-6 years of age.

STUDY DESIGN

A controlled, non-randomized, clinical pilot study was undertaken.

INTERVENTION

This descriptive hydrotherapeutic intervention treated children aged 3-6 with Kneipp arm affusions over four weeks. The control group received no intervention. At baseline and after the intervention, secretory IgA was measured, cold symptoms were assessed by means of the Common Cold Questionnaire (CCQ), and a semi-structured follow-up qualitative interview of the parents in the intervention group was conducted on acceptance and susceptibility to infection of the respiratory tract.

RESULTS

Fifteen participants were included in the intervention group and 15 were in the control group. The Kneipp arm affusions intervention was conducted at home and well-accepted by the children. No differences developed between the groups regarding sIgA. Comparing the symptoms by means of CCQ did not show symptoms of respiratory tract infections. In the intervention group, rhinitis occurred less frequently (26.7 % vs. 66.7 %, p = 0.057). In the qualitative analysis, 9/13 parents described an improvement in susceptibility to infections of the respiratory tract.

CONCLUSION

Due to the pilot character of this study, home hydrotherapy (Kneipp arm affusions) in healthy children is feasible but did not influence sIgA levels. The influence on infections of the respiratory tract after the intervention phase should be interpreted carefully. In qualitative interviews, parents described less susceptibility to infections of the respiratory tract by their children.

The role of parental self-efficacy in parent and child well-being: A systematic review of associated outcomes

BACKGROUND

For decades, parental self-efficacy (PSE), or parents' belief in their ability to influence their child in a healthy and success-promoting manner, has been understood as a key factor in promoting healthy functioning for parents and their children. In that time, an extensive collection of research examining the specific impact of PSE on parents and their children has developed. However, to the authors' knowledge, no comprehensive and systematic review of the outcomes linked to this factor exists, and the two most closely related non-systematic reviews were published over 10 years ago.

METHODS

Therefore, by utilizing an iteratively optimized set of search terms applied across four databases, the current review sought to systematically collect, synthesize, and present the extant literature concerning the role of PSE in parent and child well-being.

RESULTS

This search strategy yielded a total of 115 studies, the results of which were organized into three broad thematic categories relating to: the parent and child relationship, parental mental health, or child development.

CONCLUSIONS

These results recapitulate the clinical relevance of PSE, and provide an updated and comprehensive understanding of both the role PSE plays in the welfare of parents and children, as well as the gaps in the literature as it currently stands.