Parental Self-Efficacy and Social Support as Predictors of Parenting Practices and Children's Socioemotional Adjustment in Mexican Immigrant Families

SUMMARY The current study examined the hypotheses that (1) parental self-efficacy partially mediates the relationships between social support and both parental warmth and control, and (2) these parenting variables relate positively to children's socioemotional adjustment. First-generation, Mexican immigrant mothers were interviewed regarding social support, parental self-efficacy, parenting practices, and their child's socioemotional adjustment. Overall, results from path analyses suggest that, for Mexican immigrant families, social support relates to parenting practices partly because those with greater social support feel more efficacious as parents. Findings also showed that parenting characterized by warmth or control is associated with greater socioemotional adjustment among children. This research supports the idea that, for programs designed to influence parenting practices, simply providing social support may be less important than taking steps to enhance parental self-efficacy.