Abstract

The study analyzes the effect of perceived neighborhood violence on positive parenting and whether it is mediated by mothers' perceived self-efficacy in managing negative emotions, comparing the situation in Colombia and Italy. Participants were 434 mothers and children aged 8 to 10 years (108 dyads from Medellin, Colombia and 109 dyads from Rome, Italy), selected by convenience sampling, non-probabilistically, and proportionally to the social strata in each city. Mothers and children answered the Neighborhood Violence Perception Scale. Mothers also answered the Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale and children took the Acceptance-Rejection/Control questionnaire. A multigroup analysis found that the role of mothers' negative emotion management differed between the two countries. In Medellin-Colombia, mothers' perceived self-efficacy in managing negative emotions mediated the effect of perceived neighborhood violence on positive parenting. In Rome-Italy, mothers' self-efficacy in managing negative emotions did not mediate this link. Colombian mothers' perceived self-efficacy regarding negative emotion management indirectly explained the adverse effect of perceived neighborhood violence on positive parenting. In mothers from Rome-Italy, no significant association was found between perceived self-efficacy in the management of negative emotions and positive parenting