Background

Emerging evidence indicates that parental fatigue is associated with low warmth and increased hostility in parent–child interactions. One possible pathway by which fatigue may impact on parenting behaviour is via parental self‐efficacy (PSE), whereby high fatigue may undermine PSE, which is often associated with suboptimal parenting behaviour. The current study sought to explore a model of the relationships between parental fatigue, parenting warmth and hostility, where PSE mediates these relationships and whether the nature of these relationships differ by social or family context.