Associations between daily parent–teacher communication, child’s problem behavior, and parent–child relationship mediated by parental self-efficacy

• Daily parent–teacher (PT) communication is related to parental self-efficacy (PSE). • PSE mediates the relation between daily PT communication and family outcomes. • Higher SES families benefit more from daily PT communication than lower SES families. This study investigated the role that daily communication between parents and teachers in childcare centers plays in enhancing parental self-efficacy, which in turn decreases the child’s problem behaviors and improves the parent–child relationship. The data were drawn from 239 children (boys: N = 141; girls: N = 98; mean ( SD ) age = 4.95 (0.99) years) in formal childcare settings from the Japan Child Panel Survey-Preschool Survey. The results showed that daily communication between parents and teachers was positively related to parental self-efficacy, which was negatively related to child’s problem behaviors and the conflictive parent–child relationship. Mediation analysis showed that parental self-efficacy mediated the association between parent–teacher communication and child’s outcome and parent–child relationship. Furthermore, the association between parent–teacher communication and parental self-efficacy was moderated by socioeconomic status (SES), suggesting that higher-SES parents benefited more from daily parent–teacher communication compared with lower-SES parents. Child’s daily experiences at childcare centers were not related to parental self-efficacy or any other outcomes. These findings suggest that daily communication between parents and teachers in childcare centers plays an indispensable role in supporting parents, which ultimately leads to positive child development and family well-being.