Examined were antecedents and behavioral correlates of parental perceptions of efficacy, using data from a national survey of 3,000 parents and a study of 65 mother-infant dyads. Survey data were used to determine what factors are predictive of parental perceptions of efficacy. Dyadic data were used primarily to examine the relation between perceptions of parental efficacy and the quality of care mothers provided for their infants. Survey analyses indicated that parent income and education were related to perceptions of parental efficacy, and that race was related to parents' perceptions of control. Marital status was not predictive of parents' beliefs about their ability to influence child outcomes. Beliefs about the controllability of desired outcomes were related to parents' beliefs regarding effective parenting practices. Observation/interview findings suggested that the more control mothers believe they have over developmental outcomes, the more they will do to try to provide their chidren with optimal rearing conditions, and that mothers believe they have more control over social-emotional outcomes than cognitive outcomes. Mothers who perceived themselves as being the most competent parents did not provide the most supportive environments for their infants. Mothers of second or later born and difficult children tended to believe they had less control over developmental outcomes. (RH)