The Effect of Mother's Corona 19 Stress on Infant's Problem Behavior: Mediating Effect of Parenting Efficacy

Purpose: This study was to examine the mediating effect of parenting efficacy on the effect of mother's COVID-19 stress on infant's problem behavior. Methods: The subjects of this study were a total of 204 mothers of children aged 3-5 years in kindergarten and day care centers. The 'Covid-19 Stress Scale for Koreans' to measure the stress of Corona 19, the 'Korean Version of the Parenting Efficacy Scale' to measure the parenting efficacy, and the 'Infant Behavior Questionnaire' tool to measure the problem behavior of infants Research data were collected. The collected data were analyzed using the Pearson moment correlation and the PROCESS macro analysis proposed by Hayes (2018). Results: First, there was a negative correlation between mother's Corona 19 stress and parenting efficacy, and a positive correlation was found between Corona 19 stress and problem behavior. There was a negative correlation between parenting efficacy and problem behavior. Next, the mother's Corona 19 stress did not have a direct effect on the problem behavior of the infant, and a fully mediating effect was found that affected the problem behavior through the sense of parenting efficacy. Conclusion: This study provided basic data for reducing the problem behaviors of infants in the Corona 19 situation by proving the partial mediating effect of parenting efficacy in the effect of mother's Corona 19 stress on the relationship between problem behaviors of infants.