Interpersonal relationships in adolescence as sources of variance in parenting self-efficacy: A penalized regression model

Parenting self-efficacy is an important determinant of family coherence and child development and has been consistently associated with concurrent parent mental health and presence of supportive relationships. Exceedingly little is known about the developmental origins of parenting self-efficacy, in particular, the role of experiences in close relationships with family and friends well prior to becoming a parent. Here we used penalized elastic-net regression to estimate the portion of variance in parenting self-efficacy explained by experiences in close relationships from adolescence onwards. Data were drawn from a Dutch multiple-generation cohort study (TRAILS and TRAILS NEXT, est.2000) that has followed a cohort of young people from adolescence (age 11) into the early years of parenthood (age ~28). We included 387 parents with data on relationships with parents and peers in early to mid-adolescence adolescence and parenting self-efficacy at 3 months postpartum. More than one third of the variance in parenting self-efficacy could be explained by interpersonal experiences in adolescence, with positive facets in parent-child relationships as well as peer victimization being particularly stable predictors. Our findings show that preconception experiences in close relationships explain a substantial proportion of the variation in parenting self-efficacy.Though targeted research is needed to establish causal pathways, continued investment in interventions that promote relational health across adolescence may not only benefit young people now but also as future parents.