Parenting Self-Efficacy Among Japanese Mothers

Abstract

International comparisons find that Japanese mothers are generally effective in supporting their children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. Yet, many appear to lack a sense of efficacy in the role of parent compared to mothers in other industrialized countries. To explore this paradox, we designed a study to examine the following sources of self-efficacy in Japanese mothers: representations of their childhood relationships with mother and father, satisfaction with current social support, and level of education. Participants were 116 Japanese women with children enrolled in the last year of preschool. They participated in an interview and completed a questionnaire. Higher parenting self-efficacy was predicted by a more positive representation of childhood relationships and greater satisfaction with current amount and quality of support by the husband and other relatives. Mother’s level of education was not a significant predictor of self-efficacy. Factors associated with Japanese mothers’ parenting self-efficacy are consistent with theoretical predictions. The construct of parenting self-efficacy appears to be useful in understanding relation dynamics in Japanese families.