Association of parental self-efficacy with loneliness, isolation and community commitment in mothers with infant children in Japan: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives Parental self-efficacy is defined as an individual's appraisal of their competence in the parental role and is one of the factors targeted by parenting interventions. Factors related to parental self-efficacy among mothers, focusing mainly on individual and family characteristics, have been clarified; however, there are limited findings on community/societal factors related to parental self-efficacy among mothers. We aimed to clarify the association between parental self-efficacy and community/societal factors among mothers with infants and toddlers to provide suggestions for maternal and child health activities. Design This was a cross-sectional study, where an anonymous, self-Administered questionnaire survey was conducted by mail from November 2019 to February 2020. Setting A health and welfare centre in a ward certified by the largest designated city in Japan. Participants Six hundred forty-nine mothers raising children aged 0-3 years who attended mandatory infant health check-ups. Primary outcome measures The Parental Self-Efficacy Scale. Results The number of valid responses was 490 (valid response rate: 75.6%). The mean age of the mothers was 33.2 (SD 4.9) years. The items found to significantly relate to parental self-efficacy (p<0.05), loneliness, social isolation (social network), community commitment, greeting neighbours, willingness to interact with neighbours, participation in parent-child circles and neighbourhood association events were included as independent variables. Multiple regression analysis showed that the factors significantly related to high parental self-efficacy were low loneliness score (β=-0.436, p<0.001), high social network score (β=0.153, p<0.001) and high community commitment score (β=0.110, p<0.01). The adjusted R 2 was 0.488. Conclusions The results suggest the importance of community-building, enhancing qualitative and quantitative support by developing initiatives to reduce loneliness and improving the environment to supplement social networks, and activating community activities by promoting interaction with local residents.