Maternal psychological functioning and children's school readiness: The mediating role of home environments for African American children

Decades of educational research has documented an achievement gap in kindergarten reading and math achievement between African American children and their European American counterparts. Research has also shown that specific parenting practices (e.g., home literacy involvement) have the potential to narrow school readiness gaps by at least half. The current study examined whether and how maternal depression and parenting stress may influence specific parenting practices, as well as whether maternal warmth, home learning stimulation and cultural socialization mediated the relation between maternal depression, parenting stress, and children's kindergarten reading and math achievement. Path analyses revealed a direct negative effect of maternal depression and parenting stress on maternal warmth, home learning stimulation, and cultural socialization. Home learning stimulation emerged as an important mediator between maternal parenting stress and math achievement. Further, maternal warmth mediated the relation between maternal depression and reading achievement. Implications for early childhood research, practice and policy are discussed.

► We examine maternal depression and stress in relation to early parenting.
► We examine early parenting in relation to kindergarten achievement.
► Increases in depression and stress decreased positive parenting.
► Warmth mediated relations between depression and kindergarten reading.
► Home learning mediated relations between stress and kindergarten math.