Parenting in context: Revisiting Belsky’s classic process of parenting model in early childhood

Jay Belsky’s process of parenting model, published in 1984, continues to be widely referenced within the scientific literature. The main premise of this model is that parenting is multiply determined and is influenced by characteristics of the parent, child, and social context. In this review, we survey the theoretical and empirical literature that has accumulated related to the model within the past 30 years, with a focus on interactions among contextual factors and the applicability of the process model to the parenting of fathers. Specifically, we review in depth the domains of parental personality, parental depression, child negative emotionality, and marital quality, with more concise overviews of literature covering parental developmental history and social support. In line with Belsky’s original article, we focus on predictors of parenting during infancy and the early childhood period (i.e., birth to 5 years). Although in many ways the process model has stood the test of time and continues to be supported empirically, we recommend ways the model could be expanded based on updated current theory and research on the process of parenting in early childhood.