Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine a mediation effect of parenting efficacy in the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms and affective empathy of preschoolers and to analysis the differences of structural relationship by mother's employment status. It was confirmed as a final model. 432 mothers of preschoolers were participated to examine of this relationships. The results were as follows. First, the mother's depressive symptoms were found to be complete mediated by the parenting efficacy in the preschoolers affective empathy. Second, as a result of multi-group analysis according to mother's employment status, the partial moderating effect was proved that the depressive symptoms had a influence on the parenting efficacy in non-working mothers. The results of this study suggest that maternal depressive symptoms may have an indirect effect on the affective empathy of preschoolers and positively influence the development of preschoolers through mediation of parenting efficacy. In addition, the effect of non-working mothers' depressive symptoms on parenting efficacy is greater, suggesting that active housekeeping intervention should be sought.