Abstract
BackgroundWe examined the relationships between mothers’ sense of coherence (SOC) and their child’s social skills development among preschool children, and how this relationship is mediated by mother’s childrearing style.MethodsMothers of 1341 Japanese children, aged 4–5 years, completed a self-report questionnaire on their SOC and childrearing style. The children’s teachers evaluated their social skills using the social skills scale (SSS), which comprises three factors: cooperation, self-control, and assertion.ResultsPath analyses revealed that the mother’s childrearing mediated the positive relationship between mother’s SOC and the cooperation, self-control, and assertiveness aspects of children’s social skills. Additionally, there was a significant direct path from mother’s SOC to the self-control component of social skills.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that mother’s SOC may directly as well as indirectly influence children’s social skills development through the mediating effect of childrearing. The results offer preliminary evidence that focusing on support to improve mothers’ SOC may be an efficient and effective strategy for improving children’s social skills development.
Highlights
We examined the relationships between mothers’ sense of coherence (SOC) and their child’s social skills development among preschool children, and how this relationship is mediated by mother’s childrearing style
SOC has been defined as a ‘global orientation expressing the extent to which one has a pervasive, enduring though dynamic feeling of confidence that (i) the stimuli deriving from one’s internal and external environments in the course of living are structured, predictable, and explicable; (ii) the resources are available to one to meet the demands posed by the stimuli; and (iii) these demands are challenges, worthy of investment and engagement’ [1, 2]
To accurately clarify the associations between mother’s SOC, mother’s childrearing style, child’s social skills, the following were excluded from the analysis: (1) children diagnosed with developmental problems, and (2) children whose mothers did not return completed questionnaires
Summary
We examined the relationships between mothers’ sense of coherence (SOC) and their child’s social skills development among preschool children, and how this relationship is mediated by mother’s childrearing style. Sense of coherence (SOC), a concept developed by Antonovsky [1], refers to an individual’s personal ability to cope with stressors. SOC influences an individual’s resources for coping with stressful situations. People with high SOC tend to perceive situations as manageable and meaningful, and view stressors as important challenges worth facing. They tend to be flexible and able to Hosokawa et al Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health (2017) 11:11 draw on appropriate resources to overcome a situation [10]. People with poor SOC tend to be more vulnerable to stress and its negative health effects [5, 11, 12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
