Poster #151 - Parenting and Child Irritability During Preschool Age: A Cross-Lagged Analysis

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Developmental research often focuses on the socializing impact of parents on children. Fewer studies have examined the impact of children’s genetically influenced characteristics on parent positivity and negativity (Saudino, 2005). The current study used a genetically-informed cross-lagged twin study design to explore the association between parenting and child irritability during the preschool period, and the extent to which child-based genetic and environmental factors contribute to the stability and change in child irritability and parenting, as well as their reciprocal influences over time.

Participants included 310 twin pairs from the Boston University Twin Project (NMZ=123, NDZ=187) assessed at ages 3 and 4 within one month of their birthdays. Child irritability (CI) was assessed via parent-report using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000). Parent Negativity (PN) and Positive Parenting (PP) towards each twin were both assessed through the Parent Feelings Questionnaire (PFQ; Deater-Deckard, 1996). A cross-lagged biometric model was used to explore associations between parenting and CI within each age, and over time, and to estimate the contributions of latent genetic (A), shared (C), and non-shared environmental (E) factors to these associations. Separate analyses were conducted for CI and PN and CI and PP.

As summarized in Table 1, CI and PN were moderately heritable at each age but were also influenced by environmental factors. CI and PN were also moderately stable (βs = .50 - .66) and were correlated at both ages (r3=.41; r4=.46). The association between CI and PN was equally explained by genetic and non-shared environmental factors at age 3; after accounting for genetic covariance transmitted across age, residual effects at age 4 were primarily explained by non-shared environmental effects. In addition, significant cross-lagged paths (β12 = .09, β21 = .16) suggest that CI and PN reinforce each other over time. The influence of PN on CI over time was primarily explained by child-based genetic factors, while the influence of CI on PN was due to environmental factors.

As summarized in Table 2, variance in PP was explained by shared and nonshared environmental factors. PP was also moderately stable (β =.66). CI and PP were inversely correlated at ages 3 (r=-.23) and 4 (r=-.23). These associations were primarily explained by nonshared environmental factors at both ages. There was a modest cross-lagged path from PP at age 3 to CI at age 4 (β=-.09), and this path was accounted for by environmental factors.

Overall, these findings suggest that children’s irritability is related to parent positivity and negativity, but these associations reflect different processes. Child based genetic factors contribute to the concurrent and cross-lagged associations between child irritability and parent negativity, suggesting that children’s challenging behaviors influence parent negativity. In contrast, environmental factors primarily explain associations between child irritability and parenting positivity, suggesting that parent positivity influences children’s characteristics. Last, analyses indicate that both positive and negative parenting impact changes in irritability over time, supporting a socializing impact of parenting on children.

Authors

• Minhnguyen Cao, George Washington University
  Presenting Author

• Dorothy A White, The George Washington University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Seon Lee, George Washington University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jody Ganiban, George Washington University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kimberly Saudino, Boston University
  Non-Presenting Author