The Predictors Factors of Parental Self-Efficacy in Mothers with Children Under Two Years Old

Parental self-efficacy refers to the par-ent's perceived level of confidence of how to play their role, and also might be correlated with the social and psych-ological adjustment of children and parents. The aim of the present resear-ch is to examine factors influencing parental self-efficacy in mother with children under 2 years old. The study is descriptive- post hoc. A sample of 220 mothers were selected from Tehran by purposeful and accessible sampling method. They completed Parenting Stress Index, Sources of Social Support Scale, Maternal efficacy Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Maternal separ-ation anxiety scale and Child tempera-ment questionnaire. Stepwise regress-ion analysis showed that child temper-ament, mother depression and paren-ting stress, in three steps, could exp-lain 33% of variance in maternal self-efficacy. Therefore, educational prog-rams relevant to the mentioned factors can enhance maternal self-efficacy and prevent children’s psych-ological problems.