Abstract

Background: Parents play an important role in the child’s healthy development. Research shows that especially maternal risk factors (e.g. mental health, exposure to violence) may affect the parent’s self-efficacy for supporting the child and cause behavioral problems among little children (Whitaker, Orzol,and Kahn, 2006). The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between toddlers’(one to three-year-old children) social-emotional development and their parents’ self-efficacy. Method: The study group consists of192 children (92 female and 100 male) and their mothers. Data were collected via Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment-Parent Form (BITSEA) and Self Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index-Toddler Scale. Results: The children’s BITSEA/competence scores significantly differed by age; however, their BITSEA/competence and BITSEA/problem scores did not significantly differ by gender. While BITSEA scores did not differ by mother’s educational background, BITSEA/problem scores significantly differed by father’s educational background. The scores obtained from the routines sub-scale of Self Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index-Toddler Scale significantly differed by age and the scores obtained from the emotional competence sub-scale of the scale significantly differed by mother’s educational background. A significant positive relationship was found between the total score obtained from Self Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index-Toddler Scale and the total BITSEA/competence score. Discussion: The findings of the study support that mothers’ self-efficacy for parenting tasks affects their children’s healthy socialemotional development.