Poster #13 - Harsh Parenting Behaviors, Neighborhood Characteristics, and their Joint Effect Differentially Predict Subtypes of Antisocial Behaviors.

• In Event: Poster Session 05

Abstract

Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods increases the risk for antisocial behaviors (e.g., fighting, stealing) in children (Kim et al., 2019). Physical punishment, criticism, and scolding, if frequently used by parents to discipline their child, also contribute to the emergence of antisocial behaviors (Jolliffe et al., 2017). Despite evidence that family- and neighborhood-level factors jointly influence children’s behavior (Beyers et al., 2001), few studies have investigated the interaction between parental behaviors and neighborhood characteristics in relation to childhood antisocial behaviors. Even fewer have considered their joint effects while capturing several neighborhood characteristics simultaneously (Pearson et al., 2022). To better understand the multisystemic origins of childhood antisocial behaviors, we must study these joint effects while avoiding methodological issues (i.e., neighborhood characteristics studied separately, no interaction with parental behaviors) found in prior studies.

The present study addressed these limitations by relying on latent profile analysis to identify "types" of neighborhoods using six indicators that captured several characteristics of the neighborhoods our participants lived in: percentage of immigrants, percentage of large families (≥ 5 members), percentage of single-parent families, percentage of adults without a high school diploma, unemployment rate, and annual employment income. Subsequently, we modeled neighborhood types as a moderator in the association between harsh parenting behaviors (e.g., physical punishment, scolding) and two subtypes of antisocial behaviors: aggression (e.g., fighting) and rule-breaking (e.g., disobeying). We collected data from 312 preschoolers (57.8% girls) living in Montreal, Canada. The participants’ mothers rated children’s antisocial behaviors via the Child Behavior Checklist and their own behavior via the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire and Parenting Dimensions Inventory. Finally, we extracted neighborhood indicators from the Canadian Census Analyser, a retrieval system for Canadian census data compiled since 1971.

The latent profile analyses revealed four neighborhood types (Table 1): advantaged (5% of the sample), disadvantaged/homogeneous (14.3%, homogeneous = lower percentage of immigrants than found in the overall population), disadvantaged/diverse (38.8%, diverse = higher percentage of immigrants than found in the overall population), and middle class/homogeneous (41.2%). Participants living in disadvantaged/diverse neighborhoods showed more aggressive (β=.478, p=.001, OR=1.613) and rule-breaking behaviors (β=1.978, p=.017, OR=7.156) than participants living in other neighborhood types. Parents who showed harsh parenting behaviors had children who exhibited more rule-breaking behaviors (β=.284, p=.037), but only if the family lived in disadvantaged/diverse neighborhoods. Our results suggest that compared to other neighborhood types, disadvantaged neighborhoods with diverse populations compound the risk for behavioral problems in children, particularly if their parents use harsher disciplinary strategies. This effect could be a byproduct of disadvantage being particularly pronounced in such neighborhoods, as they had the lowest salaries and highest unemployment rates among all neighborhood types. Alternatively, immigrant families could suffer from additional stress due to the immigration process, which creates more barriers for many families living in these neighborhoods. Future studies should investigate these possibilities using longitudinal designs that consider movement between neighborhood types. Only by disentangling these associations can we identify the neighborhoods that would benefit the most from governmental policies and parenting programs, thereby promoting the healthy development of every child.

Authors

• Marie-Pier Pare-Ruel, Concordia University
  Presenting Author

• Gabrielle Parent-Trudeau, Concordia University

• Paul David Hastings, University of California - Davis

• Rosemary S. Mills, University of Manitoba

• Lisa A Serbin, Concordia University

• Dale M Stack, Concordia University