Positive parenting, attachment, epistemic curiosity, and competence motivation of preschool children in Hong Kong : A serial mediation model

Parenting plays a vital role in children’s development. Children’s competence motivation is a unique and essential element of children’s approaches to learning. However, little is known about the relationship and the underlying mechanisms between parenting and children’s competence motivation. The present study examined the relationship between positive parenting, children’s attachment, curiosity, and competence motivation as perceived by the parents. Data was collected from 311 parents with children studying in three kindergartens in Hong Kong. The results suggested that positive parenting was not only directly related to preschool children’s competence motivation, but also indirectly through: (a) the independent mediating role of children’s attachment, (b) the independent mediating role of children’s Deprivation-type epistemic curiosity, and (c) the serial mediating role of attachment and Deprivation-type epistemic curiosity. With reference to the family systems theory, attachment theory, and self-determination theory, the present study provided evidence for the serial mediating roles of preschool children’s attachment and Deprivation-type epistemic curiosity in the relationship between positive parenting and children’s competence motivation as perceived by the parents.