The Examination of the Structural Relationships Between Parental Monitoring and Parental Perfectionism on Behavioral Inhibition/Activation System and Social Competence with Self-Efficacy as a Mediator in Students

Abstract

The behavioral inhibition/activation system and social competence are variables that are constantly influenced by factors such as parental monitoring and their perfectionism. The aim of this study was to examine the structural relationships between parental monitoring and parental perfectionism on the behavioral inhibition/activation system and social competence with self-efficacy as a mediator in students. The research method was descriptive, correlational, and model-based. The study population included all students at Semnan University. The sample size for this research consisted of 250 individuals who were selected using a multistage cluster sampling method. The data collection tools in this study included parental monitoring (Kerr & Stattin, 2000), perfectionism (Terry-Short et al., 1995), self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Maddux, 1982), social competence (Flenner, 1990), and behavioral inhibition/activation system (Carver & White, 1994). The data analysis method employed was structural equation modeling. The results revealed that parental monitoring had a direct relationship with the behavioral inhibition/activation system in children; parental monitoring had a direct relationship with children's social competence; parental monitoring had an indirect relationship with the behavioral inhibition/activation system in children through self-efficacy as a mediator; parental perfectionism had a direct relationship with the behavioral inhibition/activation system in children; and parental perfectionism had a significant and inverse relationship with children's social competence. Therefore, the findings suggest that parental monitoring and their perfectionism are influential factors affecting the behavioral system and social competence of students, with self-efficacy playing a mediating and reinforcing role in the relationship.