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Objective We examine the effect of children's sex and behaviors on parents' level of parental self‐efficacy (PSE). Background PSE is a fundamental predictor of effective and positive parenting. Child characteristics could influence PSE and can help in understanding why some parents feel lower PSE. Method We randomly assigned 1,020 American parents to read one of four vignettes describing a 16‐year‐old boy or girl with either externalizing or internalizing behaviors. Then, parents reported on their level of PSE for this hypothetical adolescent. We ran analyses of variance, including the sex of parents' focal child (6th–12th grade) as a factor. Results Parents reported higher levels of PSE for girls and for externalizing behaviors than for boys and internalizing behaviors, respectively. A three‐way interaction (vignette behavior × vignette sex × focal child's sex) was significant for the level of PSE. Parents whose focal child was a boy reported higher levels of PSE if they read a vignette of a boy with externalizing behaviors than if they read a vignette of a boy with internalizing behaviors. This was not found for parents whose focal child was a girl. Conclusion The results gave partial support for a sex‐incongruent hypothesis, as parents might find it easier to relate to the problems described if they have at least one child of the same sex as the vignette child. Implications These results offer a test of the effect of children's sex and behavior on PSE that has been lacking in the PSE literature.

This study aimed to analyze the factor structure ofColeman and Karraker's (2003) Self-Efficacy of the Parenting Task Index Toddlers Scale, which assesses mothers' and fathers' parental self-efficacy (PSE) at child ages 1.5 and 3 years. A 5-factor model consisting of Presence, Emotional Support, Routines, Playing, and Teaching was found to have good measurement validity. All PSE dimensions were at least moderately stable between child ages 1.5 and 3 years. Except for Playing, mothers evaluated their PSE stronger than did fathers. Overall, parents evaluated their PSE dimensions stronger while their child was 1.5 than 3 years old. Parents' psychosocial problems during pregnancy predicted lower levels of PSE. Overall, 25% to 34% of parental self-efficacy was explained by parents' prior psychosocial well-being, yet parents' levels of PSE were rather independent to each other in the sense that either psychosocial well-being or PSE of partner did not predict other parent's later PSE.

Background Preparing families and preterm infants for discharge is relatively unstructured in many UK neonatal units (NNUs). Family‐centred neonatal care and discharge planning are recommended but variable. Design and participants Qualitative interviews with 37 parents of infants in NNUs, and 18 nursing staff and 5 neonatal consultants explored their views of discharge planning and perceptions of a planned family‐centred discharge process (Train‐to‐Home). Train‐to‐Home facilitates communication between staff and parents throughout the neonatal stay, using a laminated train and parent booklets. Results Parents were overwhelmingly positive about Train‐to‐Home. They described being given hope, feeling in control and having something visual to show their baby's progress. They reported positive involvement of fathers and families, how predicted discharge dates helped them prepare for home and ways staff engaged with Train‐to‐Home when communicating with them. Nursing staff reactions were mixed—some were uncertain about when to use it, but found the visual images powerful. Medical staff in all NNUs were positive about the intervention recognizing that it helped in communicating better with parents. Conclusions Using a parent‐centred approach to communication and informing parents about the needs and progress of their preterm infant in hospital is welcomed by parents and many staff. This approach meets the recommended prioritization of family‐centred care for such families. Predicted discharge dates helped parents prepare for home, and the ways staff engaged with Train‐to‐Home when communicating with them helped them feel more confident as well as having something visual to show their baby's progress.

Background: Parents play a significant role in the management and monitoring of their children’s Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), being considered a family disease. The current review intends to investigate parental stress, depression and anxiety symptoms associated with self-efficacy referred to paediatric diabetes management. Method: A literature review was carried out using PsycINFO, Web of Science and PubMed where the following terms were considered: diabetes mellitus, paediatric, parent-child relationship, self-efficacy, parenting stress, perceived stress, stress, depression, anxiety. Standing a defined list of inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of 33 papers were finally included. Results: Findings have shown that parents experience relatively high levels of anxiety, depression and stress symptoms related to managing a child with T1DM and are associated with parental self-efficacy. Parental stress predicts a worsening in the control of HbA1c levels, while parental diabetes-specific distress predicts an increase in children depression symptoms. High parental self-efficacy associates with better monitoring, allowing better adherence and more balanced HbA1c levels in the children. Conclusions: Interventions aimed at fostering social support, improving diabetes management, and decreasing perceived stress, might alleviate parents’ psychological symptoms by focusing on increasing their self-efficacy. Digital interventions might also represent valuable solutions to support parents in the management of paediatric diabetes not presented and substantiated in the main text and should not exaggerate the main conclusions.

Physical activity (PA) benefits children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Evidence suggests that some barriers impede parents from providing PA support for their children with ASD. Parental perceived stigma is one of these barriers. However, few studies have explored how parental perceived stigma influences parental PA support. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between parental perceived stigma and parental PA support, the mediating role of parental self-efficacy, and the moderating effect of having other typically developing children or not. A total of 274 participants were recruited to participate in the study. The results showed that parental self-efficacy mediated the association between parental perceived stigma and parental PA support and the moderating effect of having other typically developing children or not.

Parental self-efficacy (PSE) assesses a parent’s expectations and beliefs about their ability to effectively parent their child. PSE has implications for a parent’s well-being, parenting practices, mental health, the parent–child relationship, and child adjustment. While PSE has been extensively examined within the broader parenting literature, the examination of PSE specifically for parents of autistic children has gained increasing attention in recent years. The following systematic review aimed to investigate the role of PSE for parents of autistic children by examining variables that predict PSE or are predicted by PSE in relation to how they align with the broader parenting literature and are unique to autism. Utilizing PRISMA guidelines, peer-reviewed articles were included if (a) participants included caregivers of autistic children, (b) at least one quantitative outcome measure of PSE was utilized, and (c) the role of PSE was examined as an outcome, predictor, or variable in an explanatory model. A total of 53 studies were included in the review and the role of PSE was examined regarding family (e.g., parental characteristics, parent stress, well-being, and support) and child factors (e.g., autism symptomology, problem behaviors, interventions). Several themes emerged including a positive relationship between PSE and support, and a negative relationship between PSE and parenting stress, parent mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression), and autism symptomology. Findings were compared to the broader parenting and PSE literature to examine how increased considerations and challenges (e.g., child problem behaviors, social impairment, and caregiver strain) associated with raising an autistic child might impact PSE.

Spiritual posts delivered via WhatsApp were found effective for mothers of children with ASD in mitigating parenting stress and building parental self-efficacy, confidence and resilience as compared to a control group. Intervention compliance was a prerequisite, and, middle-class mothers, highly qualified, salaried/self-employed, who perceived full support from their spouses/families and who also participated in other support groups or skill development programs benefitted most. Latent class analyses revealed six subgroups of participants likely to gain most from the intervention: middle class mothers, highly qualified, salaried/self-employed, who participated in other skill development programs, above threshold posts readers and homework doers. Spirituality built mothers’ psychological resources, but dyadic interventions may be needed for dealing with challenges and uncertainties of autistic child’s emotional/behavioral characteristics.

Parents play a key role in children’s home-based online learning. This study constructed a mediating model to explore the mechanism of parents’ attitudes toward online learning (PATOL) and the perceived online learning ineffectiveness (POLI) of their children and to investigate the mediating effect of parents’ self-efficacy (PSE) on PATOL and POLI. Valid questionnaire data from 18,170 middle school parents were collected by snowball sampling. The hypotheses proposed in this study were verified by using Model 4 of PROCESS. The results showed that: when controlling parents’ gender, age, and children’s length of online learning in regression equations, (1) both PATOL and PSE were negatively related to POLI, while PATOL was positively related to PSE; (2) PSE played a mediating role in the relationship between PATOL and POLI. This study also discusses how to support parents to assist children’s home-based online learning. Schools should carry out some necessary training for parents. Parents can get guidance and advice on how to create an environment conducive to children’s online learning.

Background Many parents report the transition from hospital to home as challenging after the birth of a preterm-born child. This study investigates parental perceptions of community-based follow-up services after hospital discharge, alterations in parental self-efficacy during the early months at home, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among parents, and the relationship between these factors and both NICU experiences and children’s regulative behaviors. Methods In this second phase of a descriptive study, 110 parents returned a digital questionnaire when their child was four months corrected for prematurity. Parents were recruited while hospitalized with their child, in one of eight Norwegian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Thus, the study provides insight into follow-up services across a broad geographical range. Parents’ perception of self-efficacy was reported on the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale, and depressive symptoms were evaluated with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Children’s regulative behavior was reported on the 6-month version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social and Emotional (ASQ: SE). Using SPSS, associations between variables were investigated in multiple regression analysis in addition to descriptive analysis. Additionally, the examination of repeated measures of parental self-efficacy involved the application of linear mixed models. Results Parents reported improved perception of self-efficacy from postdischarge to the children’s age of four months (F (1,167) = 1233.2, p  < 0.001). On average, fathers’ self-efficacy improved more than that of mothers. Parents’ perception of being well informed prior to discharge from hospital predicted improved self-efficacy (F [1, 29] = 10.4, p  = 0.003). Reports of depressive symptoms were at a similar level as previously reported among new parents, as 10.4% of mothers and 6.7% of fathers reported EPDS scores  ≥  10 points. Parents’ reports on ASQ: SE show that 15% of the children scored above the recommended cutoff score for three- to nine-month-old children. The parent-reported benefit of follow-up services showed considerable variation. The importance of specific knowledge about prematurity among public health nurses and physicians was frequently mentioned, and public health nurses were perceived as coordinators and mediators of various services. Conclusions Parents reported improved self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms at similar levels as new parents in general, a few months after discharge from hospital. Childrens’ regulatory behavior were reported at levels comparable with term-born infants.

This questionnaire-based study compared 36 Israeli lesbian mother families ( n  = 72 lesbian mothers) formed by donor insemination, 39 Israeli gay father families ( n  = 78 gay fathers) formed by gestational surrogacy, and 36 Israeli heterosexual parent families ( n  = 72 heterosexual parents) formed by assisted reproduction (without donated gametes), all with a target child aged 3–10 years. The families were examined for parents’ assisted conception socialization self-efficacy, depression, negative and positive affect, life satisfaction, positivity, resilience, social support, and child externalizing problems. Multiple factors associated with child externalizing problems were also examined. Multilevel modeling analyses indicated that parents’ assisted conception socialization self-efficacy did not differ between family groups; however, lesbian mothers and gay fathers reported fewer child externalizing problems and greater social support, relative to heterosexual parents. Also, lesbian mothers—but not gay fathers—reported lower levels of depression, greater life satisfaction, and more positivity than did heterosexual parents. Finally, irrespective of family type, greater assisted conception socialization self-efficacy was associated with fewer parent-reported child externalizing problems. Findings are interpreted in light of the cultural socialization framework and Israel’s familistic and pronatalist environment. Implications for health professionals, educators, and policymakers working with diverse family forms are discussed. Highlights Parents’ assisted conception socialization self-efficacy and child externalizing problems were compared between lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families. Parents’ assisted conception socialization self-efficacy did not differ between family groups. Lesbian mothers and gay fathers reported fewer child externalizing problems and greater social support, relative to heterosexual parents. Irrespective of family type, greater assisted conception socialization self-efficacy was associated with fewer parent-reported child externalizing problems.