Microsocial Investigation of Parent-Child Coping Interactions as a Predictor of Child Adjustment

• In Event: 2-114 - Too Much of a Good Thing? Dynamic Microsocial Analyses of Parent Engagement Predicting Child Self-Regulation

Integrative Statement

The ability to effectively cope with stress and challenge is a key developmental task for children and adolescents. Socialization of coping is a critical way in which parents can influence this developmental task in their children (Power, 2004; Skinner & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2007). Existing research has primarily measured the mean-level content of parents’ attempts to teach their children how to cope with stress (e.g., Abaied & Rudolph, 2010) without capturing the complexity of this interactional process by examining other crucial contextual variables, such as child behavior during the interaction. This study applied state space grids (Hollenstein, 2013), a contemporary dynamic systems methodology, to examine how microsocial parent-child interactions during a stressful task influence child adjustment outcomes over time in middle childhood.

A community sample of 8- to 10-year-old children (N = 65, M age = 9; 55% female) completed a stressful laboratory task with a parent present, during which time parent and child behavior were observed. Parent engagement suggestions to their child about how to manage the stressor were coded (i.e., encouraging the child to directly address or change their reaction to the stressor). A novel coding scheme was developed to examine child coping behavior during the task. Child verbalizations and overt behavior were coded as either engaging with the stressor (i.e., persisting with task, asking for help from parent) or disengaging from the stressor (i.e., discontinuing task, complaining about task). Two independent raters coded both parent and child behavior with high reliability (=.80-.83). Parent(s) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) at baseline and a 6-month follow-up to assess internalizing and externalizing problems.

Linear regression analyses were conducted examining density of each parent-child behavior combination (number of events of a dyadic behavior combination as a proportion of the total number of events during the task) as a predictor of child internalizing and externalizing problems at a 6-month follow-up (See Figure 1 for example state space grid and Table 1 for regression coefficients). More frequent occurrences of simultaneous parent engagement suggestions and child disengagement behavior marginally predicted fewer internalizing problems over time (Beta=-.80). More frequent occurrences of simultaneous parent silence and child engagement behavior also predicted fewer internalizing problems (Beta=-.47) and marginally predicted fewer externalizing problems (Beta=-.35). More frequent occurrences of simultaneous parent silence and child mixed behavior (verbal engagement/behavioral disengagement or verbal disengagement/behavioral engagement) predicted greater internalizing (Beta=.58) and externalizing problems (Beta=.69). These findings emerged after controlling for baseline outcomes, child age, child gender, family income, and duration of time dyads spent engaging in the behaviors of interest.

Although replication is certainly warranted, these findings suggest that in the context of a stressful task, parents’ socialization is less effective when their behavior matches the current coping behavior of the child, indicating children are likely more or less receptive to input from their parents depending on their own context and demands at any given time. This research moves beyond prior work and suggests that socialization of coping cannot be fully understood without investigating simultaneous parent and child behavior.

Authors

• Sarah Stanger, University of Vermont
  Presenting Author

• Jamie Abaied, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author

• Meghan Morrison, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author