Structural Relationship Between Mothers’ Play Beliefs, Parenting Behavior, Children’s Playfulness, and Children’s Ego-Resilience

Abstract

Objectives: This study analyzed the structural relationship between mothers’ play beliefs, parenting behavior, children’s playfulness, and children’s ego-resilience, and verified the relationship between variables. The mediating effect of the mother’s parenting behavior and children’s playfulness was examined in the relationship between direct and indirect effects of variables on children’s ego-resilience and mother’s play belief and children’s ego-resilience.Methods: A total of 305 children aged 3 to 5 and 305 mothers enrolled in early childhood education institutes in Gangwon-do, Gyeonggi-do, Jeollabuk-do, and Chungcheongnam-do were recruited. Structural equation modeling was conducted using the AMOS 21.0 program.Results: Results revealed that mothers’ play beliefs had a positive correlation with parenting behavior, children’s playfulness, and children’s ego-resilience, and parenting behavior had a positive correlation with children’s ego-resilience. The playfulness of children exhibited a positive correlation with the ego-resilience of children, while parenting behavior and children’s playfulness. In addition, the mother’s play beliefs, the mother’s parenting behavior, and the children’s playfulness directly affected the children’s ego-resilience, and the play beliefs indirectly influenced parenting behavior and the children’s playfulness as mediators.Conclusion: This study, verified that the mother’s play beliefs, parenting behavior, and playfulness of children had a significant effect on children’s ego-resilience. It is encouraging in that it revealed that if a mother recognizes the importance of play and supports it with a positive belief in play, children’s playfulness can be cultivated and ego-resilience can be improved.