The Role of Parenting Sense of Competence in Supporting Academic Achievement: Implications for Strengths-Based Parenting Programs
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Date
2019-01-11
Authors
Marquardt, Melissa
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Children’s language and social-emotional development are important predictors of academic success. Children raised in poverty enter school already at-risk academically due to lower levels of language and social emotional skills. Parents often are the first and most important influencers on children’s development in these areas. This multi-study dissertation explored the relationships between parenting sense of competence (PSOC), parenting behaviors, and child language and social-emotional development in low-income families to identify potential intervention targets to support academic achievement.
The first study used a prospective longitudinal design to test whether PSOC has a direct effect on child language development and an indirect effect through parenting behaviors in a sample of 239 mother-child dyads. Partial support for the study hypotheses was found. There was a significant indirect effect of PSOC on children’s receptive language which was mediated by parenting behaviors. This indirect effect was not observed for expressive language.
The second study explored whether parenting behaviors mediate the relationship between PSOC and social-emotional development. Within a sample of 50 mother-child dyads, mothers who reported higher PSOC were more likely to report better child social-emotional development. There were no significant relationships between PSOC and parenting behaviors or between parenting behaviors and child social-emotional development.
The third study explored the effectiveness of a strengths-based video coaching intervention to increase mothers’ PSOC, positive parenting behaviors, and child language and social-emotional development. It was hypothesized that changes in parenting behaviors would be mediated by changes in PSOC and that effects on child development would be mediated by parenting behaviors. Complete data were collected on a sample of 44 mother-child dyads in a randomized-controlled pilot study. No intervention effects were observed.
The results from the current series of studies demonstrated inconsistent relationships between PSOC, parenting behaviors, and child language and social-emotional development. Although results from these studies were limited, the existing research suggests that increasing mothers’ PSOC may have a positive impact on parenting behaviors and child development. Interventions aimed at increasing PSOC may help children be more prepared for school entry and reduce the income-based disparity in academic achievement.