Parental Self-Efficacy

Matthew Dykas & Jude Cassidy

Parental self-efficacy refers to the extent to which a parent expects to perform competently and effectively as a parent (Teti & Gelfand, 1991). According to self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1989), parental self-efficacy incorporates (a) a parent's specific knowledge of behaviors associated with positive child rearing and (b) the confidence with which a parent feels capable of performing these behaviors (Coleman & Karraker, 1997). Because parents often perform multiple parenting roles, it is generally believed that parents have the capacity to evaluate their self-efficacy in more than one parenting domain. For example, it has been proposed that parents can independently evaluate their expectations of their abilities to assert effective parenting control, to facilitate their children's cognitive development, to promote positive socioemotional development, and to maintain their children's physical health (Coleman & Karraker, 1997). Parents who expect that they ...

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