The Effect of Parental Self-Efficacy on Infant Responsiveness, whose Mothers Present with Symptoms of Depression and Parenting Problems During the Postnatal Period

Abstract

Postnatal depression has a prevalence of 11-20% among all mothers, with long lasting negative outcomes for both mothers and children. Research has found a negative association between postnatal depression and the level of a mother’s parental self-efficacy, and indicates that these two factors negatively impact a child’s socialising and communication development. This study aims to further examine the relationship of a mother’s parental self-efficacy with the social responsiveness of her infant, and explore parental self-efficacy associations with mild to moderate symptoms of postnatal depression and social support. Observations of recorded mother and infant dyad teaching interactions were coded to provide quantitative data for analysis using the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scales (NCAST). Postnatal depression, social support and parental self-efficacy were also measured at 2 months and 8 months post birth. Results showed a small correlation between one of the parental self-efficacy measures at 2 months, and infant responsiveness at 8 months. There was a small, non-significant positive association found between high parental self-efficacy measured by the Parenting Stress Index at 2 months and infant responsiveness at 2 and 8 months, however no other associations were found in the other analyses of the two variables. Analyses also found a significant medium positive association between parental self-efficacy and social support. Changes in parental self-efficacy were associated with changes in depression, however, only one finding was significant. Suggestions for future research include further investigation into the relationship between parental self-efficacy and infant responsiveness, and future work is needed to improve measurement of infant social responsiveness.