This study explores the relations among perceived self-efficacy, social support, children's behaviors, and maternal parenting in a sample of 188 single Black mothers of a preschoolage child, employed and nonemployed, who also were current and former welfare recipients in New York City. Using multiple regression techniques, a positive relationship was found between child behavior problems and parenting stress; being nonemployed, lower self-efficacy, and less social support from friends were marginally significant predictors. Fewer child behavior problems and higher maternal educational attainment were significant predictors of more supportive, involved parenting. A marginally significant positive interaction between self-efficacy and child behavior problems indicated that self-efficacy buffered the effect of behavior problems on maternal parenting behavior.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abidin, R. R. (1990). The parenting stress index short form. Charlottesville, VA: Pediatric Psychology Press.
2.
Alvarez, W. F. (1985). The meaning of maternal employment for mothers and their perceptions of their three-year-old children. Child Development, 56, 350-360.
3.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215.
4.
Bandura, A. (1989). Regulation of cognitive processes through perceived self-efficacy. Developmental Psychology, 25, 729-735.
5.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.
6.
Belsky, J. , Robins, E., & Gamble, W. (1984). The determinants of parental competence: Toward a contextual theory. In M. Lewis (Ed.), Beyond the dyad (pp. 251-280). New York: Plenum.
7.
Belsky, J. , & Vondra, J. (1989). Lessons from child abuse: The determinants of parenting. In D. Cicchetti & V. Carlson (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 153-202). New York: Cambridge University Press.
8.
Bradley, R. H. , & Caldwell, B. M. (1984). The HOME Inventory and family demographics. Developmental Psychology, 20, 315-320.
9.
Bradley, R. H. , Whiteside, L., Mundfrom, D. J., Casey, P. H., Kelleher, K. J., & Pope, S. K. (1994). Early indications of resilience and their relation to experiences in the home environment of low birthweight, premature children living in poverty. Child Development, 65, 346-360.
10.
Bronfenbrenner, U. , Alvarez, W. F., & Henderson, C. R. (1984). Working and watching: Maternal employment status and parents' perceptions of their three-year-old children. Child Development, 55, 1362-1378.
11.
Caldwell, B. , & Bradley, R. (1984). Home observation for measurement of the environment. Little Rock: University of Arkansas.
12.
Colletta, N. , & Lee, D. (1983). The impact of support for black adolescent mothers. Journal of Family Issues, 4, 127-143.
13.
Conger, R. D. , Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526-541.
14.
Conger, R. D. , McCarty, J. A., Yang, R. K., Lahey, B. B., & Kropp, J. P. (1984). Perception of child, child-rearing values, and emotional distress as mediating links between environmental stresses and observed maternal behavior. Child Development, 55, 2234-2247.
15.
Conrad, M. , & Hammen, C. (1989). Role of maternal depression in perceptions of child mal-adjustment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 663-667.
16.
Cox, M. J. , Owen, M. T., Lewis, J. M., & Henderson, B. K. (1989). Marriages, adult adjustment, and early parenting. Child Development, 60, 1015-1024.
17.
Crnic, K. , & Greenberg, M. (1987). Maternal stress, social support, and coping: Influences on early mother-child relationship. In C. Boukydis (Ed.), Research on support for parents and infants in the postnatal period (pp. 25-40). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
18.
Cutrona, C. , & Troutman, B. (1986). Social support, infant temperament, and parenting self-efficacy: A mediational model of postpartum depression. Child Development, 57, 1507-1518.
19.
Duncan, G. J. (1991). The economic environment of childhood. In A. Huston (Ed.), Children in poverty: Child development and public policy (pp. 23-50). New York: Cambridge University Press.
20.
Edin, K. (1991). Surviving the welfare system: How AFDC recipients make ends meet in Chicago. Social Problems, 38, 462-474.
21.
Elder, G. H. , Eccles, J. S., Ardelt, M., & Lord, S. (1995). Inner-city parents under economic pressure: Perspectives on the strategies of parenting. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 771-784.
22.
Garmezy, N. , & Rutter, M. (1983). Stress, coping, and development in children. New York: McGraw-Hill.
23.
Garrett, P. , Ng'andu, N., & Ferron, J. (1994). Poverty experiences of young children and the quality of their home environments. Child Development, 65, 331-345.
24.
Goldberg, W. , & Easterbrooks, M. A. (1984). Role of marital quality in toddler development. Developmental Psychology, 20, 504-514.
25.
Greenberger, E. , & O'Neil, R. (1990). Parents' concerns about their child's development: Implications for fathers' and mothers' well-being and attitudes toward work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 621-635.
26.
Greenberger, E. , & O'Neil, R. (1992). Maternal employment and perceptions of young children: Bronfenbrenner et al. revisited. Child Development, 63, 431-448.
27.
Harris, K. M. (1996). Life after welfare: Women, work, and repeat dependency. American Sociological Review, 61, 407-426.
28.
Hoffman, L. W. (1984). The study of employed mothers over half a century. In M. Lewin (Ed.), In the shadow of the past: Psychology portrays the sexes (pp. 295-320). New York: Columbia University Press.
29.
Hoffman, L. W. (1989). Effects of maternal employment in the two-parent family. American Psychologist, 44, 283-292.
30.
Jackson, A. P. (1992). Well-being among single, black, employed mothers. Social Service Review, 66, 399-409.
31.
Jackson, A. P. (1998). The role of social support in parenting for low-income, single, black mothers. Social Service Review, 72, 365-378.
32.
Jackson, A. P. , Gyamfi, P., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Blake, M. (1998). Employment status, psychological well-being, social support, and physical discipline practices of single black mothers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 894-902.
33.
Jackson, A. P. , & Huang, C. H. (1998). Concerns about children's development: Implications for single employed black mothers' well-being. Social Work Research, 22, 233-240.
34.
Jencks, C. (1992). Rethinking social policy: Race, poverty, and the underclass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
35.
Kessler, R. C. , Turner, J. B., & House, J. S. (1988). Effects of unemployment on health in a community survey: Main, modifying, and mediating effects. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 14, 69-85.
36.
Lichter, D. T. (1997). Poverty and inequality among children. Annual Review of Sociology, 23, 121-145.
37.
McLoyd, V. C. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61, 311-346.
38.
McLoyd, V. C. , & Wilson, L. (1992). Telling them like it is: The role of economic and environmental factors in single mothers' discussions with their children. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 419-444.
39.
Mirowsky, J. , & Ross, C. E. (1990). Social causes of psychological distress. New York: Aldine.
40.
Orthner, D. K. , & Neenan, P. A. (1996). Children's impact on stress and employability of mothers in poverty. Journal of Family Issues, 17, 667-687.
41.
Pearlin, L. I. , & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19, 2-21.
42.
Peterson, J. L. , & Zill, N. (1986). Marital disruption, parent-child relationships, and behavior problems in children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 48, 295-307.
43.
Procidano, M. , & Heller, K. (1983). Measures of perceived social support from friends and from family: Three validation studies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 1-17.
44.
Richters, J. , & Pellegrini, D. (1989). Depressed mothers' judgements about their children: An examination of the depression-distortion hypothesis. Child Development, 60, 1068-1075.
45.
Rogers, S. J. , Parcel, T. L., & Menaghan, E. G. (1991). The effects of maternal working conditions and mastery on child behavior problems: Studying the intergenerational transmission of social control. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 145-164.
46.
Rutter, M. (1987). Psychological resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 316-331.
47.
Schaughency, E. A. , & Lahey, B. B. (1985). Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of child deviance: Roles of child behavior, parental depression, and marital satisfaction. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 718-723.
48.
Simons, R. L. , Lorenz, F. O., Wu, C., & Conger, R. D. (1993). Marital and spouse support as mediator and moderator of the impact of economic strain upon parenting. Developmental Psychology, 29, 368-381.
49.
Spitze, S. D. (1988). Women's employment and family relations: A review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 595-618.
50.
Teti, D. , & Gelfand, D. (1991). Behavioral competence among mothers of infants in the first year: The mediational role of maternal self-efficacy. Child Development, 62, 918-929.
51.
Thoits, P. A. (1994). Stressors and problem-solving: The individual as psychological activist. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 143-159.
52.
Turner, R. J. , & Roszell, P. (1994). Psychosocial resources and the stress process. In W. R. Avison & I. H. Gotlib (Eds.), Stress and mental health: Contemporary issues and prospects for the future (pp. 179-210). New York: Plenum.
53.
Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
54.
Wilson, W. J. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. New York: Knopf.
55.
Zaslow, M. J. , Rabinovich, B. A., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (1991). From maternal employment to child outcomes: Preexisting group differences and moderating variables. In J. V. Lerner & N. L. Galambos (Eds.), Employed mothers and their children (pp. 237-282). New York: Garland.
