Parent-Grandparent Coparenting Relationship, Maternal Parenting Self-efficacy, and Young Children’s Social Competence in Chinese Urban Families

Abstract

Examined the influences of parent-grandparent coparenting relationship on young children’s social competence, and the potential mediating role of maternal parenting self-efficacy between them in Chinese urban families. A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted. A total of 317 young children’s mothers participated in Wave 1, 179 of the 317 participants participated in Wave 2 six months later. Mothers completed scales of parent-grandparent coparenting relationship, maternal parenting self-efficacy, and children’s social competence in Wave 1 and reported their children’s social competence again six months later. Structural equation modeling with a bootstrap resample of 1000 indicated: (a) the cross-sectional study showed that maternal strategies efficacy (ab = .06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [.02, .10], p = .006) and child outcome efficacy (ab = .14, 95% CI = [.01, .08], p = .002) partially mediated the effect of parent-grandparent coparenting relationship and children’s social competence. (b) the six-month follow-up study showed that child outcomes efficacy totally mediated the relationship between parent-grandparent coparenting relationship and children’s social competence (ab = .07, 95% CI = [.03, .12], p = .003). These findings highlight the contribution of the harmonious parent-grandparent coparenting relationship and maternal parenting self-efficacy to young children’s socialization and are discussed in light of family systems theory and the ecological model of coparenting.