Peer-reviewed article
Formative Parental Competencies and Parenting Stress as Predictors of Children's Self-Esteem.
Cruz CP, Fraijo-Sing BS, Tapia-Fonllem CO, Valenzuela-Peñuñuri R, Nieblas-Soto N ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how parental competencies and parenting stress relate to children's self-esteem in 332 participants (166 children aged 8-12 and their caregivers). Researchers found that parents with stronger parenting skills reported less stress and had children with higher self-esteem. The quality of parenting practices emerged as a protective factor for children's emotional development, though the study did not prove direct cause-and-effect relationships.
Key points
- Formative parental competencies were positively associated with children's self-esteem
- Parental stress was negatively associated with children's self-esteem
- Parental competencies were negatively associated with parental stress
- Structural equation modeling showed parental competencies associated with less stress and higher child self-esteem
- Parenting practices may serve as a protective factor for children's emotional development
Limitations
The study was cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot establish causal effects or determine temporal relationships. The country of origin is not specified, limiting understanding of cultural context and generalizability.
Abstract
Background Nurturing and responsive parenting, along with parental competencies that foster child development, are the foundation for healthy emotional and psychological growth, as they provide children and adolescents with a secure environment in which they feel valued, understood, and capable of coping with everyday challenges. From this perspective, the quality of family interactions plays a central role in the development of children's self-esteem. Objective To analyze the relationship among formative parental competencies, parental stress, and children's self-esteem. Design The sample of 332 participants comprised 166 children aged 8 to 12 years and their caregivers. The E2P v.2 scale, the PSI-SF, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale were administered, after obtaining consent from the parents and/or caregivers and assent from the children. Results At a correlational level, formative parental competencies were negatively associated with parental stress, and positively associated with children's self-esteem, while parental stress was negatively associated with that self-esteem. When examining the relationships using structural equation modeling, formative parental competencies were associated with less stress and higher self-esteem in children, without showing a direct effect of stress on the children's self-esteem. Conclusion These findings suggest that the quality of parenting practices is associated with lower levels of parental stress and higher levels of children's self-esteem, highlighting its potential role as a protective factor. This pattern of associations may inform the design of interventions aimed at strengthening parental competencies aligned with positive parenting, without implying causal effects.