Mediating effects of parenting efficacy and behavior in the relationship between caregivers’ parenting stress and children’s behavioral problems in residential care homes

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the mediating effects of parenting efficacy and behavior in the relationship between caregivers’ parenting stress and children’s behavioral problems in children’s residential care homes. Methods: The study collected data from 209 caregivers of children’s residential care homes. The study analyzed descriptive statistics and correlation among variables through SPSS (ver. 26.0), and verified mediation effects by using the model 4 of PROCESS Macro (ver. 3.5). Results: First, correlations among parenting stress, efficacy and behavior, and children’s behavioral problem were statistically significant. Second, parenting behavior was proven to have a mediating effect in the relationship between caregivers’ parenting stress and children’s behavioral problems. Conclusions: Based on above results, the study discussed how to relieve parenting stress and reinforce positive parenting behaviors of caregivers for the healthy psychological and social-emotional development of children in child care facilities, and presented suggestions for follow-up studies.