Parenting: Risk or Protection?

• In Event: Effects of Social Disparities on Early Child Development: Results Based on European Birth Cohort Studies

Abstract

Introduction. It has been well documented that risk factors, such as low education, inconsistent parenting practices or difficult child temperament, in early childhood have a significant effect on children’s problem behavior (e.g. Cunningham & Boyle, 2002). By contrast, protective factors, such as high education of parents, advanced language skills in children, have been demonstrated to buffer the development of children’s problem behavior in adolescence (Werner, 2000). However, less is known about how both risk and protective factors at different time points affect later problem behavior in early childhood. The present study aimed to examine the mechanism underlying the association between early differences in socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s problem behavior at age 5, considering both risk and protective factors by using longitudinal large-scale data.
Method. Data of a total of 2,026 parent-child dyads from the Newborn Cohort Study of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) were used. Socioeconomic status (SES) was defined by maternal education and family net equivalent income, and two additional risk factors, i.e. maternal depressive feeling and children’s difficult temperament, in the first year of life were included as predictors. Co-parenting conflicts at 14 months and inconsistent parenting practices at age 4 reported by parents were modelled as mediators of these early risk factors. The outcome is the parent-reported children’s problem behavior at age 5 assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Additionally, the model included maternal early supportive parenting and children’s language competence as protective mediators between SES, risk factors and children’s problem behavior. Supportive parenting was rated in videotaped mother-child interactions in five dimensions at 26 months. Children’s receptive vocabulary was measured at 38 months using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Fourth Edition (PPVT-4).
Results. The results indicated that low maternal education and low family income were significant direct predictors of children’s problem behavior at age 5, but were neither associated with the parent-reported early conflicts in co-parenting nor inconsistent parenting. However, a comparatively higher SES was positively associated with the protective factors, i.e. supportive parenting behavior and child language, leading to an additional indirect effect of SES on the child’s later problem behavior. Maternal depression and child negative affectivity revealed significant impact on co-parenting conflicts and high level of inconsistent parenting practices which partially mediated their effect on the child’s problem behavior. In other words, despite a series of risk factors, such as inconsistent parenting practice at age 4, children who experienced more supportive parenting at 26 months and acquired advanced language competence at 38 months showed less problem behavior at age 5.
Conclusion. Overall, the findings illustrated the interplay between social disparity and children’s problem behavior in the presence of both risk and protective factors during early childhood. Furthermore, our findings suggest interventions (promoting supportive parenting and children’s language) that help to reduce children’s early problem behavior in low SES families.

Authors

• Wei Huang, Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories

• Sabine Weinert, University of Bamberg

• Manja Attig, Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories

• Jutta von Maurice, LIfBi Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories