Exploring parental competences in Spanish fathers and mothers of children aged 0–3: relationship with socio-familial and child characteristics

Abstract

ABSTRACT According to the Ecological Model, positive parenting depends on three factors: psychosocial context, the children's needs and parental competences. This cross-sectional study analyzes parental competences, perception of efficacy and parenting satisfaction, among Spanish fathers and mothers with young children aged 0–3 years, and examines their relationship with socio-familial variables (parents' age, gender, and education level) and children's characteristics (age, gender, disability, chronic illness, premature birth, and early care). Participants included 868 parents. Results show that all dimensions of parental competences were associated with socio-familial variables and/or the children's characteristics. Among others, mothers had significantly higher scores than fathers in most of the competences, with the exception monitoring of their parental activity, self-care and parental satisfaction. Regression analyses showed that the variables analyzed in this study explained 25% of the variance in the total parental competence score. Specifically, the associated variables were being a mother, younger age, having fewer children, male gender of the children, satisfaction, and sense of parenting efficacy. These results reinforce the need to offer preventive and supportive strategies for positive parenting in Spanish families, taking into consideration their socio-familial characteristics and those of their children.