Association Between Parental Competencies and Sociodemographic Characteristics Among Parents of 6- and 7-Year-Old Children in Educational Institutions of Cuenca, Ecuador

Objective: To examine the relationship between parenting competencies and the characteristics of the parents of children aged 6 and 7 years from educational institutions in Cuenca, Ecuador. Method: This study followed a quantitative approach with a non-experimental, cross-sectional, correlational design. A two-stage stratified sampling method was applied, resulting in a sample of 511 parents (69.4% married) of children aged 6 and 7 attending 13 schools in Cuenca, Ecuador. Parenting skills were assessed using the Positive Parenting Scale E2P V2 (Gómez & Contreras, 2019). Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Findings revealed inverse associations between parenting competencies and parents' age (rho = -.09, p = .049). Additionally, mothers showed higher parenting competencies compared to fathers, and a considerable proportion of fathers fell within the risk and monitoring zones of the parental profile. These results suggest that both parents' age and gender significantly influence the profile of parenting competencies. Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of considering parental characteristics when designing family education programs in order to strengthen parenting competencies and foster a more supportive home environment for child development.