Poster #55 - Bidirectional Relations Between Maternal/Paternal Parenting Styles and Infant Temperament: Predicting Toddlers’ Problem Behaviors

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Developmental Psychopathology

Integrative Statement

Both parenting and child characteristics are important contributors to child outcomes; yet a growing body of literature suggests children’s behavior can also affect, or evoke, different responses in their parents, regarded as evocative effects. Such reciprocal, or bidirectional, processes between parents and children may thus impact children’s socioemotional development, warranting greater inquiry. The present study examined potential bidirectional effects between maternal and paternal parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive) and infant temperament (negative affect, effortful control, surgency) in a diverse sample of mothers (N = 201) and fathers. Using three waves of longitudinal data (prenatally, 6 month, and 18 month), three hypotheses were tested: (1) whether maternal and paternal parenting styles prospectively predicted infant temperament; (2) whether mother- and father-reported infant temperament domains predicted parenting styles at 18 months; and (3) whether infant temperament and parenting styles at 6 months predicted mother- and father-reported toddlers’ externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors at 18 months. Mothers and fathers reported on their expected parenting styles at all three waves as well as on infant temperament at 6 months and their toddler’s emerging internalizing and externalizing problems at 18 months.

Cross-lagged structural equation models were performed using Mplus version 7.11 with Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) estimation with robust standard errors. Path models of parenting styles predicting toddlers’ T3 socioemotional behaviors were estimated for mothers and fathers independently (with all three parenting styles, all three temperament domains, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors tested simultaneously), with age and SES as time-varying covariates.

An analysis based on mothers’ report (see Figure 1), indicated that the model fit was strong: RMSEA = .031, CI [.000, .052]; SRMR = .049; CFI = .994. All three parenting styles remained stable over time, across the three time points. Prospective parental effects revealed that maternal authoritative and permissive parenting style predicted infant effortful control. Child evocative effects revealed that infant effortful control predicted greater maternal permissive parenting style. Maternal authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting style predicted toddlers’ internalizing problem behaviors. Maternal permissive parenting style also predicted toddlers’ externalizing problem behaviors. Furthermore, infants’ negative affect predicted toddlers’ internalizing problem behaviors.

An analysis based on fathers’ report (see Figure 2), indicated that the model fit was good: RMSEA = .066, CI [.048, .083]; SRMR = .066; CFI = .966. All three parenting styles remained stable over time, across the three time points. Significant prospective parental effects on infant temperament and child evocative effects on paternal parenting style were not detected. Paternal authoritative and permissive parenting style predicted toddlers’ internalizing problem behaviors. Infants’ effortful control and surgency predicted toddlers’ externalizing problems, whereas infants’ negative affect predicted toddlers’ internalizing problems.

Findings suggest maternal prenatal perceptions of parenting style predict child temperament, but child temperament can also affect subsequent maternal parenting styles. More research is needed to identify fathers’ bidirectional effects including how fathering is affected by their children’s characteristics.

Authors

• Shannon Michelle Oram Wittig, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Presenting Author

• Christina M. Rodriguez, University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Non-Presenting Author