A dyadic analysis of Head Start parents’ depressive symptoms and parent involvement: sense of mastery as a mediator

ABSTRACT

This study used the actor–partner interdependence mediation model to examine the association among parents’ depressive symptoms, sense of mastery, and parent involvement. To address the research goal, this study conducted secondary analysis using the cross-sectional data collected from the 2000 cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey. Both mothers and fathers with children enrolled in Head Start programmes completed the phone interviews and questionnaires. Results showed that sense of mastery significantly mediated the association between parents’ depressive symptoms and Head Start involvement for both parents. Specifically, mothers’ increased depressive symptoms were related to lower sense of mastery, which in turn was related to fathers’ increased involvement at Head Start. Implications of this study and future research are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Depressive symptoms
• sense of mastery
• parent involvement
• Head Start
• actor–partner interdependence mediation model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr. Christine Meng is a faculty in the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at Edgewood College. Dr. Meng's research focuses on the language and literacy development of children from diverse linguistic, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic backgrounds. She pays particular attention to the psychological and social factors that underlie the early language and literacy development. Dr. Meng is teaching research methods at Edgewood College. She received a Ph.D. in early childhood education from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ya-Fang Cheng is a PhD candidate in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests include school readiness, early learning standards, and teacher education. She has served as a teacher and director in early childhood programs for almost 10 years.