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Poster #99 - The Dynamics of Daily Family Life: Reciprocal Associations between Mothers’, Fathers’, and Early Adolescents’ Behaviors

Thu, March 21, 12:30 to 1:45pm, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall B

Integrative Statement

According to transactional models of development, parenting behaviors not only cause child (problem) behaviors, but are also displayed in response to child behaviors (e.g., Bell, 1968; Sameroff & McKenzie, 2003). Empirical work attests to the importance of examining bidirectional associations between child behaviors and parenting across years (e.g., de Haan et al., 2012). The current study was designed to extend existing knowledge about the dynamics of child and parental behaviors, by examining bidirectional associations between mothers’, fathers’, and early adolescents’ behaviors on a day-to-day level.
Research questions were addressed in a sample of Dutch families (N=110) with early adolescent children (Mage = 11.5 years, SD = 0.5 years). Mothers, fathers, and children reported about their own behaviors for six consecutive days (Sunday-Friday) using short questionnaires that were developed for this study. Mothers and fathers assessed their own harsh discipline (a combination of overreactive discipline and psychological control), and children assessed their own externalizing (aggressive and rule-breaking) behaviors, relational aggression, and prosocial behaviors. All scales showed adequate to high internal consistencies (Cronbach’s αs .60 < .98). A series of Cross Lagged Panel Models (CLPM) was analyzed. In each CLPM, one type of child behavior (externalizing behaviors, prosocial behaviors, or relational aggression) was combined with one type of parenting behavior (harsh discipline or positive parenting) of both mothers and fathers simultaneously.
All CLPM models fit the data adequately to well (CFIs, 91 < .98; RMSEAs, .029 < .070), and all associations were similar across time (days). Significant coefficients are shown in Figure 1. Results indicate that, in addition to stability in the constructs, adolescent prosocial behaviors (b = -0.08, S.E. = 0.04, p < .05) and paternal harsh discipline (b = -0.10, S.E. = 0.03, p < .001) on a given day were related to less maternal harsh discipline the subsequent day. Further, adolescent externalizing behaviors were associated with less positive parenting of mothers (b = -0.01, S.E. = 0.006, p < .05) and fathers (b = -0.03, S.E. = 0.008, p < .001) the subsequent day. Additionally, concurrent associations between adolescent externalizing behaviors and mothers’ (b = 0.53, S.E. = 0.25, p < .05) and fathers’ (b = 0.65, S.E. = 0.33, p < .05) harsh discipline, and between mothers’ and fathers’ harsh discipline (b = 0.10, S.E. = 0.03, p < .01) at T1 were found, as were correlated changes between mothers’ and fathers’ positive parenting (b = 0.07, S.E. = 0.03, p < .05). No significant cross-lagged effects of mothers’ or fathers’ parenting on adolescent behaviors were found. Together, results from this study provide detailed knowledge about how parents and children affect each other’s behaviors in day-to-day life.

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