Emotional Distress, Deployment Length, And Change In Parental Efficacy After A Military Parenting Program: A Dyadic Longitudinal Model

Abstract

Deployment and emotional distress are related to compromised parenting, which brings challenges to child adjustment. Parental efficacy, defined as one’s beliefs in his/her capabilities related to the parenting role, is an important aspect of parenting and a key outcome in parenting interventions. However, less is known about differences among parental efficacy between mothers and fathers, how parental efficacy changes over time, and its relationship with other key parental dimensions (emotional distress, and deployment length). In the current study, data from 271 heterosexual couples were used to explore the non-independence structure of parental efficacy between couples. The results revealed interesting gender differences. In general, couples’ parental efficacy at baseline but not the rate of change was correlated with each other. Mothers but not fathers benefited from the parenting intervention and maintained positive change over two years, while deployment length had a negative impact on fathers’ change over time. Besides, while mothers’ baseline parental efficacy was associated with their own emotional distress and children’s age, fathers’ baseline parental efficacy was related to their own as well as their partners’ emotional distress, and in addition, to their partner’s deployment length. The results suggest that mothers are the primary caregivers in military families and have a bigger influence on co-parenting. Limitations and implications are discussed.