Contributions of Mothers’ Parenting Behaviors to Infants’ and Toddlers’ Social-Emotional Development

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

Introduction
Supportive early relationships are instrumental to young children’s development (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Numerous studies have highlighted the impact of early relationships, specifically the mother-child relationship, on infants’ and toddlers’ social-emotional development (Landry et al., 2006; McElwain & Booth-LaForce, 2006). Further, infants and toddlers who live in poverty may be at an increased risk for poor social-emotional outcomes (Duncan & Brooks, 1997). While early intervention programs, such as Early Head Start (EHS), have demonstrated benefits for both parents and children at risk, additional research is needed for a more nuanced understanding of how parenting behaviors contribute to infant and toddler outcomes, including social-emotional development. The primary goal of this study is to further examine the unique contributions of mother’s parenting behaviors on infants’ and toddlers’ social-emotional development using an EHS sample.

Method
This sample was drawn from a larger study that examined the effectiveness of the Promoting First Relationships intervention with families in a Mid-Atlantic EHS program. The current study is a secondary data analysis that focuses on parenting behavior and children’s outcomes, rather than the intervention. Our preliminary results examine the influence of parenting behavior on children’s social-emotional skills. Future analyses will examine the influence of parenting behaviors on additional child outcomes, such as infants’ and toddlers’ language development.

Analysis and Measures
Descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS Version 27 (IBM SPPS Statistics, 2020). Regression analyses were conducted using MPlus with full-information maximum likelihood (FIML) estimation (Muthén & Muthén, 2018).

We conducted multiple regression analyses. Outcome variables included children’s social-emotional competence and problem behavior as measured by the BITSEA (Briggs-Gowan & Carter, 2006). Parent-child interactions, as measured by two composite scores from the Three Bags Task (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1997; Roisman & Fraley, 2008), were entered as predictors. Specifically, we used the sensitivity composite score and the positive engagement score. Control variables included child race/ethnicity, child age, child sex, and child’s receptive and expressive communication scores.

Results
Descriptive statistics are presented in Table 1. Results of the regression analyses examining parent-child interactions as a predictor of children’s social and emotional behavior are presented in Table 2. We ran two models—one for the outcome variable social-emotional competence and one for problem behavior. The sensitivity composite score of the Three Bags Task was a significant predictor of children’s social-emotional competence (though not problem behavior), controlling for children’s expressive and receptive language as well as family and child characteristics. The positive engagement score was not a significant predictor of children’s social and emotional behavior.

Discussion and Implications
Our preliminary findings suggest that parenting behaviors, specifically mother’s sensitivity, predict infants’ and toddlers’ social-emotional competence. Additional child data will be analyzed to understand the relationship between mothers’ parenting behaviors and child outcomes, specifically children’s language development as measured by the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Findings from these analyses will be presented. These results have the potential to inform our understanding of the role that parenting behavior plays in infants’ and toddlers’ development.

Authors

• Cara Lynn Kelly, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Gerilyn Slicker, University of Nevada Las Vegas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jason T Hustedt, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author