Aggressive behavior among children is one of the biggest problems in the Netherlands, because of the possible long-term consequences for child and society. At the same time, raising children to...Show moreAggressive behavior among children is one of the biggest problems in the Netherlands, because of the possible long-term consequences for child and society. At the same time, raising children to successfully participate in society can be quite a challenge for future mothers. This is why the main focus of the current research was to examine the relationship of two parental factors: parental self-efficacy and social support, and the child factor: the degree of aggression in children. The participants of this study were 204 future mothers (M age= 22.54 years, SD= 2.25) and their children (M age= 20.25 months, SD= 1.67). The future mothers filled in two questionnaires about their perceived social support and their parental self-efficacy. Once their child was aged 20 months, the mother filled in a questionnaire about the degree of aggression observed in their children. The results show that parental self-efficacy, in contrary to social support, is an important predictor for aggression in children aged 20 months. The perceived social support is not, separate or combined with parental self-efficacy, a predictor for aggression. This concludes the importance of supporting future mothers in their route to parenthood. It will be of great importance to increase the parental self-efficacy and through that contribute to the well-being of mothers, children and society. Future research could help this goal by examining the effectiveness of a variety of intervention on the parental self-efficacy.Show less
