Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Publication

The Relationship Among Social Support, Domains of Parental Self-Efficacy and Distress in Parents of Young Children

Abstract
The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships amongst social support, parental self-efficacy and postpartum distress. Parents of children under two (N = 327) were recruited via social media and poster advertisements. They were asked to complete three questionnaires regarding social support (Family Support Scale; FSS), parental self-efficacy (Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale; KPCS) and emotional distress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale; DASS).The participants from this study who had high levels of self-efficacy were found to be more likely to have high levels of social support; however, this correlation was not as strong as anticipated. Furthermore, the participants from this study who had high levels of selfefficacy were less likely to be experiencing distress symptoms; the strength of this correlation was moderate and similar to prior findings. To further explore the relationships among these constructs, a post-hoc exploratory factor analysis of the Karitane Parenting Confidence Scale (KPCS) was conducted; yielding two factors: parenting role confidence (PRC) and baby care confidence (BCC). These two factors of the KPCS were found to be correlated with depression, anxiety and stress; parenting role confidence had a stronger relationship with these variables. Additionally, it was found that a combination of parenting role confidence and baby care confidence had substantial power to predict depression, anxiety and stress; social support added a small but significant additional predictive value. These findings suggest that postpartum distress might be mitigated by providing interventions that would improve levels of social support and parenting self-efficacy.
Type
Thesis
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Date
2023
Publisher
The University of Waikato
Rights
All items in Research Commons are provided for private study and research purposes and are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.