Parent empowerment as a buffer between perceived stress and parenting self-efficacy in immigrant parents

U.S. immigrant parents encounter various challenges during the migration and resettlement process, such as acculturative stress and dissonance in parenting practices between the cultures in the U.S. and those in their country of origin. Although studies have established a link between increased perceived stress and reduced parenting self-efficacy in U.S.-born parents, which could be alleviated by levels of parental empowerment, little is known about this pathway in the context of migration. Guided by the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response Model and with a focus on low-income immigrant parents of young children, we examined (1) the association between perceived stress and parenting self-efficacy, and (2) whether parental empowerment constitutes a buffer between perceived stress and parenting self-efficacy. Participants included foreign-born, low-income parents (n = 680) with preschool-aged children enrolled in Head Start of Greater Boston. Linear regression models were conducted to examine the relationship between perceived stress and parenting self-efficacy. An interaction term between perceived stress and empowerment was included to test the moderating effect of each dimension of parental empowerment (i.e., resource empowerment, critical awareness, and relational empowerment). Results showed higher perceived stress was associated with lower parenting self-efficacy and this relationship was moderated by relational empowerment. Findings suggest that relational empowerment can be an important resource for immigrant parents with high stress and a protective factor to improve self-efficacy in their parenting. These results pose important implications regarding how healthcare professionals and clinicians may support parents, for example, through the development of culturally sensitive parenting interventions and the creation of safe environments for parent-to-parent relationships.