Poster #70 - Maternal Anxiety, Maternal Parenting Attitudes, and Child Shyness Predicting Overcontrolling Parenting

• In Event: Poster Session 18

Abstract

Overcontrolling parenting predicts child anxiety (McLeod et al., 2017). Two types of overcontrolling parenting are protective (e.g., comforting, reassuring) and intrusive (e.g., directive, interfering) behaviors. Maternal attitudes about parenting may be important predictors of parenting behavior (Kiel et al., 2019). Mothers who believe that comforting behaviors help their child may be more likely to engage in these behaviors. However, these attitudes may only predict parenting behaviors within the context of other salient maternal factors, such as maternal anxiety (Jones et al., 2022). Maternal parenting attitudes may only predict anxiogenic parenting behavior when mothers have high levels of anxiety themselves. Given that child shyness also predicts overcontrolling parenting (Edwards et al., 2010), the current study assessed whether maternal anxiety moderated the relation between maternal parenting attitudes and change in overcontrolling parenting behavior from child age 2 to 3 years, controlling for child shyness.

Mothers (N = 187; 93% White) and their children (85% White, 58% male) participated in two lab visits, one when children were 2-years-old (T1) and one at 3-years-old (T2). Maternal anxiety was assessed via the Penn State Worry Questionnaire at T1 (Meyer et al., 1990). Maternal attitudes about the benefits of intrusive parenting and the immediate benefits of protective parenting were assessed via the Attitudes about Parenting Strategies for Anxiety Scale at T1 (Kiel et al., 2019). Child shyness and maternal intrusive and protective parenting were observed at both visits during a standardized procedure in which a friendly clown played with the child (Nachmias et al., 1996; Kiel & Buss, 2012).

Results revealed that when controlling for T1 child shyness, maternal anxiety and attitudes about the immediate benefits of protective parenting significantly interacted (b = .007, p = .010) such that maternal attitudes positively predicted change in protective parenting behavior from T1 to T2 only in the context of high levels of maternal anxiety (b = .114, p = .018). However, when controlling for T2 shyness, maternal anxiety and protective parenting attitudes did not interact. Instead, there was solely a main effect of child shyness (b = .045, p < .001). Maternal anxiety and attitudes about the benefits of intrusive parenting did not interact to predict change in intrusive parenting behavior when controlling for T1 or T2 child shyness, with solely a main effect of child shyness (age 2: b = .024, p = .015; age 3: b = .045, p < .001).

Results suggest that maternal anxiety contextualizes the relation between protective parenting attitudes and change in protective behavior over one year when controlling for past, but not current, child shyness. These findings indicate that in the long term, maternal cognitions are important predictors of protective parenting behaviors and may be effective targets for intervention. However, in the moment, maternal protective parenting is solely driven by children’s current behavior. Further, results indicate that past and current child shyness are the most robust correlates of change in intrusive parenting behavior, suggesting that child factors are most salient to address when targeting intrusive parenting behaviors in intervention.

Authors

• Elizabeth Aaron, Miami University - Ohio
  Presenting Author

• Ashley Dautrich

• Elizabeth J Kiel, Miami University - Ohio