Social Mastery Motivation Mediates the Link between Parental Responsiveness and Children’s Social-emotional Competence

Research Findings: Parental responsiveness and social mastery motivation are important correlates of children's social-emotional development, but little research has examined the relationships among these factors. The present study investigated the direct and indirect relationships among paternal and maternal responsiveness, social mastery motivation, and social-emotional competence of Hong Kong Chinese kindergarten children. Participants were 188 children (105 boys; mean age 3.82) and their parents recruited through local kindergartens' parent groups. Parents reported their parental responsiveness, and children's social mastery motivation as well as social-emotional competence. In addition, children's receptive and expressive vocabulary were individually assessed as control variables. Results from the path analytic model revealed that social mastery motivation partially mediated the association between maternal responsiveness and children's social-emotional competence, but that paternal responsiveness did not significantly predict children's social mastery motivation or social-emotional competence. Practice or Policy: The findings highlight the differential associations of paternal and maternal responsiveness with children's social-emotional competence. The results also suggest the desirability of encouraging children's social mastery motivation to promote their social-emotional competence.