Preschool education as a bridge between parenting self-efficacy and risky play: A mediation analysis

This study examines the mediating role of children's preschool education duration in the relationship between parenting self-efficacy and allowing risky play. The cross-sectional quantitative research design was employed. The participants were 479 Turkish mothers. The data were collected using the Berkeley Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale Revised (to assess parents' perceived effectiveness), the Scale for Allowing Risky Play (to measure attitudes toward risky play), and a demographic information form (to gather participant characteristics). To investigate the mediation effect, bootstrapping technique was applied to the data. The findings revealed that children’s preschool education durations played a mediating role in the relationship between mothers' parenting self-efficacy beliefs and allowing risky play. The results highlight the importance of preschool education duration in shaping the link between parenting self-efficacy and mothers’ attitudes toward risky play. These findings may inform the development of intervention programs aimed at strengthening parental efficacy and promoting balanced approaches to children’s risky play opportunities.