Parental self-efficacy manipulation

What is it about?

This randomized micro-trial aims at testing the relationship between mothers’ self-efficacy and children’s behavior. In this theory-based experiment, mothers’ self-efficacy was manipulated in a convenience sample of 42 mothers and their 4–5 year-old preschoolers. Mothers’ and children’s behaviors were assessed during a 45-min mother–child interaction session with free-play, frustration and problem-solving tasks. Both observational and self-report measures were used.

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Why is it important?

Results show that mothers who received a positive feedback to reinforce their self-efficacy had more positive parenting behaviors with their children than non-reinforced mothers in the control group. Children whose mothers had been reinforced in their self-efficacy were more positive with their mothers. This micro-trial contributes to discuss the quite complex causal nature of the relation between parents’ self-efficacy, parenting and child behavior.