The Effects of Parenting Stress, Perceived Mastery, and Maternal Depression on Parent–Child Interaction

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test a model that delineated the interrelationships among parenting stress, perceived mastery (defined as the belief that one's life chances are under one's own control), maternal depression, and parent-child interaction. A secondary data analysis of the Fragile Family and Child Well-Being Study was conducted, using a sample of 2,650 mothers. Results suggest that parenting stress undermines one's sense of perceived mastery which, in turn, resulted in depression. Moreover, the results also indicated that parenting stress directly affected maternal depression and parent-child interaction. There was no support for the hypothesis that parenting stress undermines one's sense of perceived mastery which, in turn, resulted in depression, which affected one's parent-child interaction. Implications of these findings for professionals working with mothers of young children are discussed. Future research should test this model using other forms of parenting behavior.It has been 27 years since Belsky (1984) published his seminal work on the ecological model of the determinants of parenting behavior. Belsky identified three domains of determinants of parenting behavior. These domains are parent characteristics (i.e., psychological resources and developmental histories), characteristics of the child, and contextual sources of stress and social support. For Belsky, these domains have both a direct and indirect effect on parenting behavior. Belsky speculates that the indirect effect of sources of support and stress on parenting behavior will be through the psychological resources of the parent. Yet, most studies that have exam-

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