Effects of Mothers' Parental Efficacy Beliefs and Promotive Parenting Strategies on Inner-City Youth

This study investigates the effects of parental efficacy on promotive parenting strategies, children’s self-efficacy, and children’s academic success in adverse environments. Data were obtained from a 1991 survey of 376 mothers, both White and Black, and their young adolescents in inner-city Philadelphia. Analyses show that beliefs in parental efficacy predict the promotive strategies of Black mothers but not those of White mothers, a difference that reflects the higher risk environments of Black families. They tend to live in more socially isolated and dangerous neighborhoods than White families. Overall, mothers’ parental efficacy is a stronger predictor of children’s self-efficacy and academic success in disadvantaged family and environmental contexts, such as Black single-parent households and Black families with a weak marriage, than in White families or Black families with a strong marriage. Surprisingly, mothers’ efficacy beliefs but not their promotive strategies are associated with the self-efficacy and academic success of their children.