Agbaria and Mahamid  Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica

Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10

https://doi.org/10.1186/s41155-023-00252-4

RESEARCH Open Access

The association between parenting styles,

maternal self‑efficacy, and social and emotional
adjustment among Arab preschool children
Qutaiba Agbaria1 and Fayez Mahamid2*   

Abstract
Parenting styles and parental self-efficacy are major factors that affect the overall adjustment of children. The current
study examined parenting styles and maternal self-efficacy and their association with social-emotional adjustment
among Arab preschool children living in Israel. Parenting Styles Questionnaire, Maternal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire,
and Adjustment Questionnaire were administered to 420 Arabic-speaking mothers of 3- to 4-year-old children. After
employing multiple regression analyses, the results indicated that parenting styles and the overall adjustment of
children were significantly correlated. More precisely, a significant association between authoritative parenting style
and higher levels of social-emotional adjustment among preschool children was found. Furthermore, maternal self-
efficacy was significantly correlated to the overall adjustment of children. In this regard, higher maternal self-efficacy is
associated with increased social-emotional adjustment among preschool children. The findings of our study show the
applicability of these constructs found relevant across numerous cultures in a unique sample of Arab children living in
Israel. Lastly, this study supports intervention programs that promote authoritative parenting style and parental self-
efficacy in Arab communities.
Keywords Parenting styles, Maternal self-efficacy, Social-emotional adjustment, Palestinian preschool children

Introduction preschoolers gain the necessary confidence and skills to

Early childhood is a critical period for social-emotional engage in successful social interactions, including estab-
development, which is defined as the development of lishing and maintaining positive peer relationships and
diverse skills in navigating relationships and coping friendships (Denham and Brown, 2010). These social
with an array of emotional states that foster future mat- and emotional competencies and associations with psy-
uration and psychological health (Izard, 2001). Broadly, chological well-being are identified by many scholars
as social-emotional competencies flourish, children as “social-emotional adjustment” which is a gradual,
are presented with opportunities to explore the world integrative process through which children acquire the
around them, face new challenges, and test their ability capacity to understand, experience, express, and man-
to cope with adversity. Furthermore, social-emotional age emotions and to develop meaningful relationships
competencies are vital for social functioning, helping with others (Aunola et al., 2000; Gülay & Önder, 2013;
Santrock, 2004; Yeh, 2003). Social-emotional adjust-
ment is typically evaluated across three domains: inter-
*Correspondence: personal, emotional, and academic. The interpersonal
Fayez Mahamid
[email protected]
emotional adjustment relates to one’s ability to interact
1
Al-Qasemi College, Baqa al‑Gharbiyye, Israel with other children and his/her social role; the emo-
2
Psychology and Counseling Department, An-Najah National University, tional adjustment relates to self-confidence and self-
Nablus, Palestine
control, while academic emotional adjustment relates

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Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 2 of 11

to the completion of educational tasks (Kandır & Alpan, reduced affection or warmth and offer minimal encour-
2008). agement or comfort and minimal to no support to chil-
The development of adequate social-emotional adjust- dren’s independence/autonomy (Briggs-Gowan et al.,
ment is especially relevant to children who belong to 2001). Consequently, children of parents with an authori-
a minority group that is living in a society where their tarian parenting style have been found to exhibit low
racial, cultural, or linguistic backgrounds are underrepre- self-esteem (Mantzicopoulos & Oh-Hwang, 1998), lower
sented. One group that may have particularly high levels levels of achievement at school (Nyarko, 2011), high lev-
of cultural tension is Arab children living in Israel. This els of depression and hostility, and inability to solve prob-
group has to navigate the polarization of the Palestinian lems on their own (Aunola, et al., 2000; Finzi-Dottan
versus Israeli national narratives and social demands, et al., 2011).
which may possibly interfere with social-emotional Authoritative parenting style combines high levels
adjustment (Agbaria et al., 2021; Agbaria, 2020; Dwairy, of control with high levels of support. Thus, the child
2009). is both supervised closely and cared for consistently.
Many studies demonstrate that children who live These parents often take into consideration the personal
in multicultural societies have higher levels of open- opinions and desires of their children, offer them expla-
mindedness, cultural empathy, perceived self-efficacy, nations for their parenting decisions, and permit nego-
and problem-solving strategies (Maddux et al., 2021). tiations between all members of the household (Weiss &
However, children who belong to disadvantaged minor- Schwarz, 1996; Zupancic et al., 2004). Children of par-
ity groups are often found to display lower levels of ents with an authoritative style have not only been found
emotional stability (Dewaele & Oudenhoven, 2009; to be more successful, have more friends, and exhibit
Schachner, et al., 2016; Yeh, 2003). Given the distinct high levels of self-confidence, but they are also able to
situation of Arab children in Israel living in a multi- complete assigned tasks efficiently and control fluctua-
cultural social but as a minority group, it is unknown tions in their emotions (Denham et al., 2000; Mahamid
whether their cultural background may contribute et al., 2022).
to positive or negative outcomes in social-emotional Permissive parenting style is characterized by low
adjustment. parental control and high emotional support for the child.
Social-emotional adjustment starts with the child’s In this parenting style, the wishes and actions of the chil-
social interactions during the first year of life. Parents– dren are prioritized, and the children are not punished
child relationship plays a key role in that adjustment from when they do not comply with the guidelines (Rossman
an attachment perspective. It has been proposed that & Rea, 2005; Zupancic et al., 2004). Children of permis-
children who develop secure attachments with parents sive parents are more likely to rebel, act impulsively, be
will also develop more positive teacher–child relation- less successful in reaching objectives, be dependent on
ships, which may increase their classroom psychosocial others, and act aggressively (Wu, 2009). According to
adjustment (Breeman et al., 2015). On the other hand, Baumrind (1991), this parenting style is associated with
children with low level of social-emotional adjust- children having diminished independence, increased
ment may give up more easily on challenging tasks, fail school absenteeism, and greater involvement in criminal
to acquire the skills that develop with persistence, and activities. These children have also been found to display
develop problematic behaviors when faced with subse- a lack of self-control, low social skills, difficulty dealing
quent difficult situations. with autonomy, a lack of maturity, low self-esteem, and
feelings of alienation (Abu Baker et al., 2021; Santrock,
Social‑emotional adjustment and parenting styles 2004).
Parents have major influences on the lives of their young Lastly, uninvolved parents uphold few rules and are
children; they are responsible for modeling culture- and emotionally unresponsive (Sanders, 2003). In this par-
family-specific attitudes, behaviors, and values (McGil- enting style, the complete lack of boundaries in the
licuddy-De Lisi and Lisi , 2007). Parents differ in their household makes it difficult for children to learn the
methods of sharing and reinforcing these values with appropriate behaviors that can, for example, be applied
their children, and that is what is referred to as parent- in schools. Prior findings demonstrate that children with
ing styles. Parenting style is classified as authoritarian, uninvolved parents are more likely to misbehave in social
authoritative, permissive (Baumrind, 1991), and unin- settings (Gimenez-Serrano et al., 2022). Gharrah (2015)
volved (Veronese et al., 2022). Authoritarian parent- suggested that uninvolved parenting style may have the
ing style describes parents who shape and control the most negative effect on children compared to the other
behaviors of their children according to clear standards three parental styles.
(Zupancic et al., 2004). These parents tend to exhibit
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 3 of 11

Cultural influences on parenting style outcomes authoritarian parenting and developmental outcomes,
Authoritative parenting style was found to be related to such that collectivist societies (e.g., Arab society) have
fewer behavioral problems among Arab preschool chil- observed both positive and negative influences. Yet, the
dren in Israel (Agbaria, 2020), though it is unknown how interplay between parenting style and social-emotional
this relates to social-emotional adjustment. This shows adjustment has never been explored among Arab individ-
that authoritative parenting style affects children simi- uals living in Israel, which is one gap in the literature that
larly across different cultures and ethnicities. Consistent will be addressed in the present work.
with prior findings in Western societies, recent studies in
Arab communities also found that mothers who perceive Social‑emotional adjustment and maternal self‑efficacy
themselves as permissive or uninvolved assessed their Another factor that has been historically associated with
children’s social skills negatively (Abu-Taleb, 2013; Haj- social-emotional adjustment is parental self-efficacy.
Yahia and Greenbaum, 2021). Relatedly, among a sample Parental self-efficacy is the extent to which parents per-
of Arab preschool children, permissive and uninvolved ceive themselves as capable of performing various tasks
parenting styles were associated with greater behavioral connected with the role of being a parent. Prior studies
problems (Abu Baker et al., 2021). Thus, permissive and showed that parenting characterized by high self-efficacy
uninvolved parenting styles have also been more consist- has been associated with greater social-emotional adjust-
ently associated with negative outcomes across cultures. ment among children (Albanese et al., 2019; Li et al.,
Interestingly, however, the views around authoritarian par- 2010; Steca et al., 2010). A parent with high self-efficacy
enting style differ cross-culturally. For instance, past research has high levels of self-confidence in his/her ability to act
claimed that children from collectivist cultures such as Chi- as a parent, is willing to invest in this task, and believes
nese, African-Americans, and Arabs have long perceived that he/she has the ability to positively affect the develop-
authoritarian parenting style as an expression of care, love, ment and behavior of his/her child in a way that meets
respect, and protection. Therefore, in these traditional cul- the child’s needs (Jones & Prinz, 2005; Pelletier & Brent,
tures, authoritarian parenting style has not been found to 2002). Therefore, higher parental self-efficacy is associ-
be related to psychological distress but rather to improved ated with higher quality of parental emotional support
social-emotional adjustment (Chao, 1994; Dwairy, et al., and more positive parenting strategies ( Dwairy, 2002;
2006; Kagitcibasi, 2005). More recent research on parenting MacPhee and Meller-Heyl, 2003). Mothers who view
styles among Arabs, however, demonstrates that authoritar- themselves as having high self-efficacy are more likely
ian parenting style has been associated with poorer social- to demonstrate a warm and responsive style of parent-
emotional adjustment (Abu-Taleb, 2013) and behavioral ing combined with strict discipline and control over the
problems (e.g., disruptive classroom behavior) among pre- child’s behavior, which is consistent with authoritative
school children (Agbaria, 2020). These contemporary studies parenting style (Albanese et al., 2019; Baumrind, 1991).
show that authoritarian parenting style affects children nega- Notably, maternal self-efficacy has been linked to child
tively rather than positively as claimed in previous studies. adjustment in various areas including academic achieve-
Some of the cultural differences that may nuance these ment (Jones & Prinz, 2005; Pelletier & Brent, 2002).
findings are highlighted by the theoretical framework Preliminary studies that examined parental self-effi-
developed by Keller (2016) who reported that collectivist cacy among Arab parents found that higher parental
societies like traditional Arab cultures typically embody a self-efficacy led to more positive outcomes among chil-
multiple caretaking model, and thus, examining the role dren. Khoury-Kassabri et al. (2013), for example, found
of parenting style requires a nuanced consideration of the that Arab mothers who reported low levels of parental
parenting arrangement. Specifically, the Arab families liv- self-efficacy were more likely to report social-emotional
ing in Israel are faced with dual influences of traditional maladjustment among their children than mothers who
collectivist Arab culture and the more individualistic, reported higher levels of parental self-efficacy. Moreo-
modern values of Israel. Thus, the associations between ver, Fass et al. (2017) found that Arab mothers with low
parenting style with children’s social-emotional adjust- maternal self-efficacy had a greater likelihood to punish
ment within this unique population warrant examination. their children, which in return was associated with lower
Overall, authoritative parenting style has been consist- levels of social-emotional adjustment among children.
ently associated with positive developmental outcomes This supports the notion that higher maternal self-effi-
across Western and non-Western cultures, including cacy leading to positive outcomes across different cul-
Arab individuals living in Israel. Furthermore, permis- tures and socioeconomic status, though the relationship
sive and uninvolved parenting styles have been related with parenting style during the sensitive developmental
to negative outcomes across cultures. However, cultural period of preschool, is unknown and warrants empirical
influences differentially inform the relationships between investigation.
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The current study participants had two children, while 28% of the partici-
The primary goal of the current study was to assess pants had more than three children, and the remaining
whether the associations that have been established 6% had only one child. With respect to the children, 50%
cross-culturally between parenting style and maternal of them were boys, and 50% were girls. Approximately
self-efficacy with social-emotional adjustment may simi- one-third (33.8%) of the children were the first born,
larly be applicable within the unique population of Arab while 38.4% of them were the youngest in the family. A
preschool children living in Israel who deal with unique total of 23.2% of the children were the middle child in the
challenges which may impact their ability to attain per- family, and the remaining 4.6% were the only child in the
sonal and social adjustment and develop a stable identity. family. The children’s average age was 4.12 (SD = 1.11).
Based on previous studies from different cultures (Alba- Regarding socioeconomic status, 30.2% of children were
nese et al., 2019; Li et al., 2010; McGillicuddy-De Lisi and from families with high socioeconomic status, 45.7%
Lisi, 2007), this study hypothesized that (1) authoritative from families with moderate socioeconomic status, and
parenting style would be associated with higher levels of 23.1% from families with low socioeconomic status. Cri-
social-emotional adjustment, compared to authoritar- teria for including parents and children in the study were
ian, permissive, and uninvolved parenting styles, and (2) as follows: (1) having never been diagnosed with any
greater maternal self-efficacy would be associated with form of neurodevelopmental or psychological impair-
higher levels of social-emotional adjustment among chil- ment, (2) living in Israel, and (3) attending public pre-
dren. In order to examine all these variables, this study schools in Israel. The teachers included in the study were
used reports from teachers about each child’s emotional all working within public preschools in Israel.
and psychological adjustment in order to provide a more
comprehensive picture of the children’s social-emotional Measures
functioning. The findings will be discussed with respect Following standard methodological recommendations
to the unique cultural aspects of Arab preschool children for developing our questionnaires, all items were trans-
living in Israel. lated and back-translated from the original English ver-
sion to Arabic and pilot tested by a panel of ten Arab
Methods professionals recognized as experts in psychology, coun-
Participants selling, and social work. These professionals evaluated
The study sample was drawn from 16 government pre- the clarity and relevance of the questions and translation.
schools, and the sample size for this study was calcu- After completing the translated draft, an independent
lated based on 95% CI and 5% margin of error by using expert English editor back-translated the questionnaires
the Raosoft software sample size calculator. Based on into English. The translated version was then pilot tested
that, the recommended sample was 430 Arabic-speak- among 70 participants (validity sample) and further
ing mothers of 3- to 4-year-old children from the Arab refined for clarity.
population, within the central part of Israel. We excluded
ten questionnaires from the analysis due to inaccurate Personal information questionnaire
and incomplete responses. The recruitment of the par- The mothers self-reported on the following questions:
ticipants was completed through a convenience sampling mother’s age, mother’s education level, family status
method from sixteen public preschools that were chosen (married/divorced), child’s age, child’s gender, child’s
from the Ministry of Education districts. Participants birth order, child’s socioeconomic status, and number of
from these schools were recruited through online and children in family.
in-person methods, including social media advertise-
ments and presenting written materials at school meet- Parenting styles questionnaire
ings or sending them home with children. The mothers’ This is a 49-item self-report measure developed by Abu
average age was 30.12 years (SD = 9.34). A total of 45.9% Taleb (2013) in Arabic to categorize respondents’ parent-
of the participants had obtained higher diplomas, 43.2% ing styles based on the four categorizations: 14 items for
had obtained university degrees, 8.2% held a high school authoritative, for example: “There is a strong connection
degree, and 2.7% had only completed primary education. between myself and my child”; 12 items for authoritar-
The majority of the participants were married (99.3%), ian, for example: “I am always in control of my child”; 10
while the other (0.7%) were divorced. In addition to that, items for permissive, for example: “No limits are placed
each child’s teacher was also surveyed to report on the on the child in the home”; and 12 items for uninvolved,
child’s adjustment in school. for example: “Do not respond quickly to the needs of the
Approximately one-third (33.1%) of the participants child.” This questionnaire was selected because it was
had three children, and the second third (32.5%) of the developed specifically for use in Arab populations. Each
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 5 of 11

respondent receives an average score for each of the team first received approval from the government’s chief
four parenting styles, ranging from 1 (low) to 3 (high). scientist and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of An-
The subscales of the measure have demonstrated good Najah National University. Participants from these six-
internal consistency (authoritative: α = 0.82; authoritar- teen schools were recruited from online advertisements,
ian: α = 0.79; permissive: α = 0.70; uninvolved: α = 0.80) e-mail campaigns, and social media. The aims and pro-
(Abu-Taleb, 2013). In the current study, good internal cedures of the study were explained online, and parents
consistency was also observed: (authoritative: α = 0.73; who were interested in participating were sent an email
authoritarian: α = 0.74; permissive: α = 0.70; uninvolved: clarifying their willingness to participate in the study.
α = 0.69). Each child attending the selected sixteen public pre-
schools received a letter at school to give to their parents.
Maternal self‑efficacy questionnaire The letter briefly explained the subject of the study and
The original questionnaire contains 30 self-report items its purpose, including ethical issues of confidentiality and
(Aviram, 1990) and measures the individual’s expecta- voluntary participation. Informed consent was obtained
tions regarding their ability to initiate and follow through from all individual participants included in the study,
with effective behavior across various domains of one’s including both the mothers and teachers. Questionnaires
personality, for example, “I feel insecure as to my abil- were distributed to the participating mothers and the
ity to get things done.” Responses to each item were children’s preschool teachers with instructions on how to
recorded on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (highly complete the measures at home. Nearly all of individu-
disagree) to 4 (highly agree), and an average score was als who consented to participate in the study completed
calculated. The questionnaire demonstrated a good inter- the questionnaires (95%). Sixteen teachers completed the
nal consistency (α = 0.83). In our study, we used the mod- adjustment questionnaire for children. Coded matching
ified version of this questionnaire reflecting self-efficacy procedures maintained the coordination and anonymity
in parenting practices which was used by Keller (2012). of the gathered data.
The questionnaire exhibited good internal consistency
(α = 0.86), which was similarly observed in the current Data analytic plan
sample (α = 0.72). Bivariate, zero-order correlations were examined for the
study variables to test the associations of parenting styles
Adjustment questionnaire and maternal self-efficacy with social-emotional adjust-
Child adjustment was measured using the “Adjustment ment. This allowed for the determination of which vari-
scale of children to kindergarten and school for teachers” ables were significantly associated with social-emotional
(Smilansky & Shfatyah, 2001). The scale includes 18 ques- adjustment and warranted inclusion within a stepwise
tions to measure adjustment in three areas: academic multiple regression model. Next, the stepwise multiple
(e.g., ability to meet deadlines), emotional (e.g., express- regression model, with parenting styles subscales and
ing feelings appropriately), and social (e.g., maintaining maternal self-efficacy total score significantly associ-
peer relationships). Each question describes a facet of ated with social-emotional adjustment, was entered as
the child’s behavior evaluated on a 5-point Likert scale independent variables and was created to examine the
from 1 (highly disagree) to 5 (highly agree). The scale unique associations of each parenting styles and maternal
has exhibited good internal consistency for the com- self-efficacy with children’s social-emotional adjustment.
posite scores of all items, general adjustment (α = 0.88), Entering all of the significant independent variables into
and for the subscales: academic adjustment (α = 0.66), a single regression model allows for the isolation of the
emotional adjustment (α = 0.77), and social adjustment effect of each variable while reducing multi-collinear-
(α = 0.68). The measures of internal consistency reported ity concerns. In this model, demographic variables for
by Bouley (2011) for the “Adjustment Assessment Scale” the child’s age, gender, and socioeconomic status were
were α = 0.91 for the entire scale and α = 0.77 and 0.88 entered in step 1 in order to control for the possible con-
for social and emotional adjustment, respectively. For founding effects of individual differences when examin-
the current study, the measures of reliability were also ing associations between the study variables in step 2.
good for general adjustment (across all three domains)
(α = 0.94), emotional adjustment (α = 0.82), and social Results
adjustment (α = 0.84). Table 1 depicts the descriptive statistics for parent-
ing styles, maternal self-efficacy, and social-emotional
Procedures adjustment.
The study was carried out in sixteen public preschools in The first hypothesis focused on the association between
Israel during the 2020–2021 school years. The research the child’s adjustment and parenting styles. In support,
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 6 of 11

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of study variables (n = 420) (r =  − 0.37, r2 =  − 0.74, p < 0.01). Furthermore, there
Mean SD Min Max were significant, negative correlations between unin-
volved parenting style and the child’s overall adjust-
Self-efficacy 3.19 0.66 1.18 4.00 ment (r =  − 0.30, r3 =  − 0.60, p < 0.01), social adjustment
Permissive parenting style 1.77 0.58 1.22 3.00 (r =  − 0.33, r2 =  − 0.66, p < 0.01), and emotional adjust-
Uninvolved parenting style 2.96 0.83 1.22 3.00 ment (r =  − 0.40, r2 =  − 0.80, p < 0.01). No associations
Authoritative parenting style 1.36 0.24 1.00 2.29 were observed between permissive parenting style and
Authoritarian parenting style 2.37 0.31 1.38 2.85 any facets of adjustment (ps > 0.05).
General adjustment 3.72 0.80 1.72 5.00 Table 3 shows the associations observed in the regres-
Emotional adjustment 3.91 0.79 1.67 5.00 sion analyses specifying facets of adjustment as the out-
Social adjustment 3.64 0.86 1.50 5.00 come variables and entering all other study variables to
isolate the unique effect of each independent variable.
Consistent with the correlational analyses, authorita-
tive parenting positively and significantly associated
Table 2 shows a significant, positive correlation between
with general adjustment at (B = 1.31, p < 0.01), social
authoritative parenting style and the child’s overall
adjustment (B = 1.13, p < 0.01), and emotional adjust-
adjustment (r = 0.51, r2 = 0.26, p < 0.01) as well as social
ment (B = 1.40, p < 0.01). Furthermore, authoritarian
(r = 0.49, r2 = 0.24, p < 0.01) and emotional adjustment
parenting style exhibited a significant negative contri-
(r = 0.49, r2 = 0.24, p < 0.001). There were also signifi-
bution in explaining the variance in general adjustment
cant, negative correlations between authoritarian parent-
(B =  − 0.50, p < 0.01), social adjustment (B =  − 0.62,
ing style and the child’s overall adjustment (r =  − 0.39,
p < 0.01), and emotional adjustment (B =  − 0.63, p < 0.01).
r2 =  − 0.78, p < 0.01), social adjustment (r =  − 0.39,
In addition, uninvolved parenting style also provided
r2 =  − 0.78, p < 0.01), and emotional adjustment
a significant negative contribution to the variance for

Table 2 Correlations of study variables (n = 420)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1. Self-efficacy - - - - - - -
2. General adjustment 0.38** - - - - - -
3. Emotional adjustment 0.30** 0.91** - - - - -
4. Social adjustment 0.34** 0.94** 0.82** - - - - -
5. Permissive style 0.13 − 0.12 − 0.13 − 0.11 - - - -
6. Uninvolved style − 0.22** − 0.30** − 0.33* − 0.40** 0.27** - - -
7. Authoritative style 0.34** 0.51** 0.49* 0.49** .01 − 0.22** - -
8. Authoritarian style − 0.33** − 0.39** − 0.37* − 0.39** 0.10 − 0.52** − 0.32** -
*
p < .05; **p < .01

Table 3 Regression analysis for predicting adjustment (n = 420)

General adjustment Social adjustment Emotional adjustment
2 2
R Β R Β R2 Β

Step 1 .03 .02 .03

Child’s age .06 .05 .06
Child’s gender .03 .04 .03
Child’s socioeconomic status .04 .03 .03
Step 2 0.26 0.27 0.27
Uninvolved parenting style −1.11** −1.18** −1.31**
Authoritative style 1.31** 1.13** 1.40**
Authoritarian parenting style −0.50** −0.62** −0.63**
Self-efficacy 0.30** 0.28** 0.29**
**p < .01
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 7 of 11

general adjustment (B =  − 1.11, p < 0.01), social adjust- during childhood and adolescence (Abu-Taleb, 2013;
ment (B =  − 1.18, p < 0.01), and emotional adjustment Baumrind, 1991). Authoritarian parents have a restrictive
(B =  − 1.31, p < 0.01). style of interaction with their children that may discount
The second hypothesis focused on the association the child’s opinions in a manner that has been associated
between child’s adjustment and maternal self-efficacy. with anxiety, fear, and frustration among children (Chen
Consistent with hypotheses, significant positive corre- and Wang, 2011). Moreover, children of authoritarian
lations were found between maternal self-efficacy and parents have not only been shown to be less content and
child’s overall adjustment (r = 0.38, r2 = p < 0.01), social secure but also more likely to become hostile and have
adjustment (r = 0.30, r2 = 0.09, p < 0.01), and emotional greater difficulties navigating stressful circumstances
adjustment (r = 0.29, r2 = 0.08, = , p < 0.01). In regression (Eisenberg et al., 1997; Weiss and Schwarz, 1996).
analysis, self-efficacy positively and significantly predicts Interestingly, the current findings suggest that the
variance in general adjustment (B = 0.30, p < 0.01), social authoritarian parenting style has negative effects on the
adjustment (B = 0.28, p < 0.01), and emotional adjustment social-emotional adjustment of Arab preschool children
(B = 0.29, p < 0.01). living in Israel. This contradicts earlier findings that entail
that authoritarian parenting style is an ideal approach for
Discussion children’s development in non-Euro-American ethnic
This current study examined the relationship between communities (Chao, 1994). The present findings may be
parenting styles, maternal self-efficacy, and social-emo- related to the process of modernization that has been
tional adjustment among Arab preschool children. Con- occurring in Israel over the last decade. Dwairy (2004)
sistent with the study hypotheses, the results show that noted that the authoritarian parenting style was the most
higher overall, social-emotional adjustment among Arab common parenting style among the Arab population liv-
preschool children was associated with authoritative par- ing in Israel. However, more recent studies show that
enting style and higher maternal self-efficacy. Further- authoritative, rather than authoritarian, is the most pref-
more, lower overall and social and emotional adjustment erable parenting style for this population (Agbaria et al.,
were found to be related to authoritarian and uninvolved 2021).
parenting styles.
Uninvolved parenting style
Social‑emotional adjustment and parenting styles Akin to authoritarian parenting style, there was a nega-
Authoritative parenting style tive association between uninvolved parenting style and
The findings of this study are consistent with results child’s social-emotional adjustment. This result is con-
from prior research, which found that preschool chil- sistent with prior studies (Abu-Taleb, 2013; Baumrind,
dren of parents with an authoritative style have higher 1991). Uninvolved parents are considered “hands-off ”
social-emotional adjustment than those with other par- in terms of both rule setting and emotional responsive-
enting styles (e.g., Albanese et al., 2019; McKinny et al., ness, thus contributing to the child’s social and emo-
2008). Children with authoritative parents exhibit lower tional maladjustment. This style has also been associated
levels of stress and depression as they are more likely to with poorer academic performance which may similarly
feel happy, respected, and appreciated by their parents contribute to increased social and emotional maladjust-
(Baumrind, 1971; Alegre, 2010). These factors have been ment problems (Dwairy and Achoui, 2006). Uninvolved
specifically related to higher social-emotional adjustment parenting style demonstrates negative behavioral mod-
in previous studies and may also be contributing to the eling for children, as it may lead the child to feelings of
current findings (Agbaria, 2014; Alegre, 2010). Further- being unwanted and neglected. Thus, these children may
more, some of the specific techniques of authoritative act out for attention in social situations or develop poor
parenting style, such as promoting appropriate expecta- strategies for emotion regulation because they are not
tions for children while being sensitive to their emotional able to learn appropriate behaviors from their parents.
experience, may foster more advanced social-emotional The negative impacts of uninvolved parenting style that
skills among them (Webster-Stratton et al., 2011). have been observed cross-culturally in prior studies also
extend to this unique sample of Arab individuals living
Authoritarian style in Israel. Nevertheless, the participants within the cur-
The negative association between authoritarian par- rent study actually aligned with the uninvolved parenting
enting style and preschool children’s social-emotional style to a greater degree than any of the other four par-
adjustment is congruent with prior studies that have enting styles. This raises a particular concern that Arab
demonstrated a negative association between authoritar- parents living in Israel may be adopting the uninvolved
ian parenting style and social-emotional maladjustment parenting style due to living in an at-risk community and
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 8 of 11

being faced with numerous demands that distract their Social‑emotional adjustment and maternal self‑efficacy
resources away from more involved parenting styles. Maternal self-efficacy was associated with greater social-
Further research is needed to better understand parents’ emotional adjustment among Arab preschool children in
rationales for adopting the uninvolved parenting style Israel, which is consistent with prior studies in broader
within this population and raise awareness into its nega- demographic samples (Jones & Prinz, 2005; MacPhee
tive effects. & Meller-Heyl, 2003). The confidence of a mother with
high self-efficacy may be instilled into her child when
Permissive style approaching new situations, as the mother would feel
The current findings paralleled prior research, which did more comfortable teaching the child the necessary skills
not observe a significant association between permissive and providing warm support. Sharing ideas between
style and children’s social-emotional adjustment (Haj- mother and child has also been found to encourage the
Yahia and Greenbaum, 2021). Yet, the broader picture child to share ideas with his/her preschool teacher, which
of this relationship remains inconclusive, as other stud- then strengthens the teacher–child dyadic relationship
ies have either observed a positive relationship between and fosters the child’s adjustment to preschool (Bouley,
the two variables (Chen and Wang, 2011; Hughes and 2011). Furthermore, a child who has a close relationship
Gottlieb, 2004) or a negative relationship ( Gimenez-Ser- with his/her mother may also feel secure in establishing
rano et al., 2022; Wolfradt et al., 2003). These inconclu- new relationships with children from different ages as he/
sive results may be explained according to the children’s she is better able to integrate socially (Howes et al., 1994).
individual differences regarding how they respond to This would ultimately contribute to higher social-emo-
having fewer boundaries. While some children may tional adjustment among preschool children.
develop problems in social and emotional skills (Milevsky Maternal self-efficacy may be particularly important for
et al., 2007), some of them may seek other role models children’s social-emotional adjustment within the current
or even develop more mature skills to provide themselves sample, because Arab children in Israel are living in what
with the structure that their parents were not able to pro- is considered a “risk environment,” whereby parents feel
vide. Thus, future research should explore individual fac- that the community will not protect their children. This
tors that may determine which children benefit or suffer environment pushes parents to take the lead in promot-
from permissive parenting within this unique sample of ing their children and protecting them from the negative
Arab preschool children living in Israel. effects of their surroundings. Political instability, com-
The results of our study could be interpreted from a bined with high rates of unemployment and increased
developmental perspective, the child’s personality and poverty, may reduce the levels of self-efficacy among
his growth as an adult depends extensively on how he Arab parents in Israel. This shows the need to pro-
was treated by his parents (Albanese et al., 2019; Li mote parental self-efficacy within this sample as higher
et al., 2010). The education of children is not a sponta- parental self-efficacy may help the child become better
neous nor a random action; parenthood is a mixture of equipped to confidently navigate such risk environments.
joy and struggle for everyone, and no one can claim to These results show that while culture plays an impor-
hold all the answers to the problems of raising a child. tant role in mediating the relationship between parenting
Every parent has his identity and uniqueness. As every styles, parental self-efficacy, and child’s social-emotional
family is unique, positive parenting skills are not innate; development, it is also important for future research to
they are learned (Li et al., 2010). The parents–children take into account the socioeconomic status of the fami-
relations are healthy when they are oriented in order lies under study.
to take care and not to control or manipulate. A child There are several practical implications that may be
learns by and through interaction with others (adults, speculated based on the preliminary, cross-sectional
peers, etc.). Thus, quite frequently, we can remark the results of this research. For instance, the association of
consequences of a permissive attitude of some parents; authoritative parenting style with higher social-emo-
they find it beneficial for a child to develop in his own tional adjustment in children may inform educational
rhythm. A child who grows up without rules does not efforts and intervention programs for Arab parents.
have references; a child who gets everything he wants Also, individuals with regular contact with the par-
without making any effort will be disgruntled and with ents (e.g., the child’s primary care physician, the child’s
no motivation. On the other hand, there are the authori- teacher, etc.) may consider advocating for the impor-
tarian parents who make decisions for the child, require tance of parental strategies consistent with the authori-
obedience of rules, and define firmly the space and its tative parenting style (e.g., consistent expectations and
manifestation. Mistakes made in meeting child’s needs high warmth). These educational efforts could also be
can hinder his development. extended to the training of educators by having each
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 9 of 11

teacher take a course to develop their knowledge and been tested with this specific population, and so atypical
expertise regarding the social and emotional adjust- results cannot be fully ruled out. Lastly, further research
ment of children that emphasizes the principles of in this area, or with this population of Arab preschool
authoritative parenting, which can also be replicated by children living in Israel, could also provide a more com-
the teachers themselves (e.g., firm behavioral standards prehensive picture by assessing how demographic vari-
with high support). ables (e.g., how many children live in the home, birth
Given the association between maternal self-efficacy order), positive behavioral outcomes (social-emotional
with higher levels of children’s social-emotional adjust- adjustment), and negative behavioral outcomes (e.g.,
ment, intervention efforts could also be targeted towards aggression) associated with parenting styles and paren-
improving maternal self-efficacy. It would be especially tal self-efficacy.
beneficial for expecting mothers to foster their paren-
tal self-efficacy by setting appropriate expectations and
thinking through possible challenges during the prenatal Conclusion
period. This early intervention could take place at par- In summary, the present study provided support that
enting and family centers and be facilitated by experts associations between social-emotional functioning in
on the subject. Thus, the present, cross-sectional find- youths with parenting style and maternal self-efficacy
ings provide initial insight into how maternal self-efficacy observed in numerous cultures are also applicable
and parenting style may warrant consideration in clinical within this unique sample of Arab preschool children
applications, though future research including longitudi- living in Israel. Specifically, higher social-emotional
nal approaches is needed to better understand the most adjustment among Arab preschool children was asso-
relevant intervention strategies. We also recommend ciated with authoritative parenting style and higher
testing the variables of the current study using structural maternal self-efficacy. In contrast, authoritarian and
equation modeling (SEM) to identify predictor, mediat- uninvolved parenting styles, as well as lower maternal
ing, and outcome variables. self-efficacy, were associated with poorer social-emo-
tional adjustment among the sampled children. While
these findings attest that authoritative parenting style
Limitations
and higher maternal self-efficacy are important for the
The current study contained several key limitations.
child’s development cross-culturally, future research
This sample was intentionally recruited from moth-
might also consider examining the role of the fam-
ers of preschool children in a defined geographic area
ily’s socioeconomic status in mediating the relation-
and linguistic/religious subgroup that was not ran-
ship between parenting styles, parental self-efficacy, and
dom. Therefore, the findings may not be generalizable
child’s adjustment. Promoting authoritative parenting
to different demographic groups. The study also relied
style and increasing parental self-efficacy may be espe-
on self-report for both parenting style and maternal
cially important for Arab parents and children living
self-efficacy which may be limited by the respondent’s
in Israel as they are considered an at-risk population.
potential bias. Future studies can benefit from adding
Thus, additional support may be necessary for parents
behavioral indices or external evaluations and assess-
from this population to successfully foster their chil-
ing the child’s socio-emotional ability directly. This
dren’s social-emotional adjustment.
would allow for further insights regarding the social
and emotional development of children. Relatedly, in
the current study, parents did not provide ratings on Abbreviations
their child’s adjustment (only the teachers did), which IRB Institutional review board
SEM Structural equation modeling
should be considered in later work to get a more com-
prehensive picture of childhood adjustment across mul- Acknowledgements
tiple settings (e.g., school and home). In addition, future Not applicable.
research may also consider sampling fathers, in addi- Authors’ contributions
tion to mothers, as previous studies have found that the All authors contributed equally to this work. All authors read and approved
parenting styles of the fathers and mothers may differ the final manuscript.
from one another (McGillicuddy-De Lisi & Lisi, 2007). Funding
Thus, surveying both mothers and fathers may provide No funding was received for this study.
a more comprehensive picture of the effects that par-
Availability of data and materials
enting styles and self-efficacy have on children’s social- The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are
emotional adjustment. The scales used in our study and available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
their psychometric characteristics had not previously
Agbaria and Mahamid Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica (2023) 36:10 Page 10 of 11

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in submitting the manuscript to the Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica Journa. sion. Development and Psychopathology, 12(1), 23–45. https://​doi.​org/​10.​
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