Commitment to the parental role, parenting styles, and parenting stress among foster mothers
Abstract
This study investigated commitment to the parental role among foster mothers and its relation to parenting styles and parenting stress. Participants were 58 certified foster mothers caring for a child between the ages of 3 months and 12 years who had been in the foster home for at least 3 months. Foster mothers completed 4 questionnaires related to demographic characteristics, commitment to the parental role (PRS), warm/response parenting (PACR), and parenting stress (PSI-SF). Foster mothers who reported higher levels of parental role commitment endorsed warmer and more responsive parenting styles, perceived parenting as less stressful and more satisfying, and perceived their foster children's behavior and their parent-child relationships more positively. In addition, parental role commitment contributed to parenting style, over and above the contribution made by demographic characteristics. Exploratory analyses examined the relation between children's age, gender, and length of placement in the home and parenting outcomes. The study's findings highlight the importance of examining foster parents' attitudes and beliefs in relation to the quality of care provided to children.
Subject Area
Social psychology|Psychotherapy|Social work|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
Recommended Citation
Verini, Ellen, "Commitment to the parental role, parenting styles, and parenting stress among foster mothers" (2003). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3083162.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3083162
