Examining the Influence of Maternal Parenting on Children’s Peer Competence: The Mediating Role of Self-Regulation in Children

Abstract

This study explored the role of young children’s self-regulation as a mediator between maternal parenting and children’s peer competence. The study was conducted on 327 young children and their mothers enrolled in kindergartens and preschools in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. The data were processed using the SPSS 26.0 program and Process Macro. The study’s findings yielded several important results. First, there was a significant correlation between maternal parenting behavior, children’s self-regulation, and children’s peer competence. Second, the study found that children’s self-regulation played a mediating role in the relationship between maternal parenting behavior and peer competence. In other words, maternal parenting behaviors had an indirect influence on children’s peer competency through their impact on the children’s self-regulation abilities. Furthermore, the children’s self-regulation acts as a mediating and indirect factor in elucidating the relationship between the mother’s parenting behavior and the children’s peer competence. The study demonstrates that children’s self-regulation acts as a crucial mediating factor in explaining the relationship between maternal parenting behavior and children’s peer competence. Therefore, enhancing children’s self-regulation abilities can play a vital role in shaping peer competency.