Longitudinal Relations among Mothers’ Perceived Social Support, Parenting Practices, and Children’s Social Competence during Middle Childhood in Mozambique

Parenting practices have been commonly studied as important predictors of children’s social outcomes in European American families. However, researchers have rarely investigated relations between parental factors and child social outcomes in families living in sub-Saharan regions, such as Mozambique. This study investigated longitudinal relations between mothers’ perceived social support, mothers’ parenting behaviors, and children’s social competence during middle childhood using longitudinal data from the Mozambique site of the Family Migration and Early Life Outcomes (FAMELO) project (N = 609; Wave 1 child Mage = 8.96 years; 49.6% female). Mothers reported their perceived social support, parenting practices (i.e., parental engagement, modeling, monitoring), and children’s social competence. The half-longitudinal mediation model did not support the hypothesized indirect effects from maternal social support to parenting practices, and parenting practices to children’s social competence. However, mothers’ social support positively predicted their modeling behaviors and children’s social competence. Moreover, “parent effects” and “child effects” were found between maternal parenting practices and children’s social competence across two years, but relations were not always as hypothesized or consistent with within-time relations. Mothers’ engagement and monitoring behaviors at Wave 1 negatively predicted children’s social competence at Wave 2. Children’s social competence at Wave 1 negatively predicted maternal modeling behaviors and positively predicted maternal monitoring behaviors at Wave 2. The pattern of associations between mothers’ parenting practices and children’s social competence did not differ for boys and girls. This study provided novel information suggestive of longitudinal associations among mothers’ social support, maternal parenting practices, and children’s social competence in middle childhood and shed light on the complex transactions between mothers and children in Mozambican families. Suggestions for future research were provided to facilitate a better understanding of the support mothers perceived from their social networks, parenting behaviors, and child social development in the sub-Saharan African context.