Parental Satisfaction with Center-Based Child Care and Life Satisfaction: Exploring the Effects of Parenting Stress

• Other Authors: Howard, Stacy (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Social service
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-3720

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that help parents to cope with stress and to determine the overall impact that parenting stresses have on satisfaction with child care and overall life satisfaction. The current study utilized a family stress model to determine the overall impact that parenting stresses have on the two dependent variables with influences of parenting stresses, parenting daily hassles, level of family coping, perceived teacher support, and sense of coherence. Two hundred and one parents from one of five selected counties in Florida completed an online survey. The data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 and AMOS 6.0 and the models fit well with the observed data. The results revealed that the variable with the greatest total effect on satisfaction with child care was sense of coherence followed by parenting stress and perceived teacher support and the reported R2 explained 10.0 percent of the variance. Similar results were found for satisfaction with life. The variable with the greatest total effect on satisfaction with life was sense of coherence, followed by parenting stress and perceived teacher support and the reported R2 explained 33.0 percent of the variance. Parents reported being most stressed with worrying about "doing enough" for their children, with difficulty in balancing different responsibilities because of their children, and by financial burden. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Summer Semester, 2010. === April 23, 2010. === Parenting Stress, Family Coping, Satisfaction with Child Care, Satisfaction with Life, Sense of Coherence, Teacher Support === Includes bibliographical references. === Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Nicholas Mazza, University Representative; Marsha Rehm, Committee Member.