The present study was designed to examine the structural relationship between
mothers' perceptions of their relationships with their parents and husbands (as
the predictors of parenting self-efficacy), mothers' parenting self-efficacy (PSE),
and parenting behaviors among contemporary Korean mothers. A sample of 95
Korean mothers of pre-school,1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade elementary school children
in Seoul, South Korea were recruited. Mothers were asked to respond to a
survey that captured mothers' perceptions of their relationships with their
parents and husbands, PSE, and their parenting behaviors. Structural equation
modeling(SEM) was applied to analyze the hypothesized model. The results
indicate that mothers who perceive their relationships with their own parents as
positive were more likely to have higher PSE. In addition, mothers who
reported higher PSE levels were less likely to be inconsistent in their parenting
behaviors and more likely to be responsive in their parenting behaviors. The
results of this study underscore the importance of PSE as a psychological
resource that enables contemporary Korean mothers to parent in positive ways.
Furthermore, these findings emphasize the importance of mothers' perceptions of
their social relationships as a factor that contributes to higher PSE.