Association of parental self-efficacy with loneliness, isolation and community commitment in mothers with infant children in Japan: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES: Parental self-efficacy is defined as an individual’s appraisal of their competence in the parental role and is one of the factors targeted by parenting interventions. Factors related to parental self-efficacy among mothers, focusing mainly on individual and family characteristics, have been clarified; however, there are limited findings on community/societal factors related to parental self-efficacy among mothers. We aimed to clarify the association between parental self-efficacy and community/societal factors among mothers with infants and toddlers to provide suggestions for maternal and child health activities. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study, where an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted by mail from November 2019 to February 2020. SETTING: A health and welfare centre in a ward certified by the largest designated city in Japan. PARTICIPANTS: Six hundred forty-nine mothers raising children aged 0–3 years who attended mandatory infant health check-ups. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The Parental Self-Efficacy Scale. RESULTS: The number of valid responses was 490 (valid response rate: 75.6%). The mean age of the mothers was 33.2 (SD 4.9) years. The items found to significantly relate to parental self-efficacy (p<0.05), loneliness, social isolation (social network), community commitment, greeting neighbours, willingness to interact with neighbours, participation in parent–child circles and neighbourhood association events were included as independent variables. Multiple regression analysis showed that the factors significantly related to high parental self-efficacy were low loneliness score (β=−0.436, p<0.001), high social network score (β=0.153, p<0.001) and high community commitment score (β=0.110, p<0.01). The adjusted R(2) was 0.488. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest the importance of community-building, enhancing qualitative and quantitative support by developing initiatives to reduce loneliness and improving the environment to supplement social networks, and activating community activities by promoting interaction with local residents.