Insensitive parenting and childhood aggression: The mediating role of children's aggressive relational representations

• In Event: Developmental pathways to childhood aggression: The roles of parenting and household structure

Abstract

Extant research suggests that insensitive parenting marked by hostility, intrusiveness, or low warmth is associated with a host of deleterious outcomes (Konchanska et al., 2019), including children’s aggressive behavior (Backman et al., 2021). Early parent-child relationships lay the groundwork for representations of social interaction (e.g., conflict, comfort; Bowlby, 1982), which are thought to influence how children perceive and respond to other meaningful relationships, such as with peers (Cassidy, 1996). This longitudinal investigation tested whether observations of insensitive parenting at age 4 predicted changes in teacher-reports of children’s aggression from ages 4.5 to 8.5 as explained by changes in children’s aggressive relational representations drawn from a laboratory administered story telling task at ages 4 and 8.

Participants were 250 children (50% females, 46% Latine) who completed laboratory assessments at ages 4 (N = 250) and 8 (N = 205). At age 4, independent coders evaluated parental hostility, intrusiveness, and supportive presence (reverse-coded) based on a series of laboratory teaching tasks (Egeland, 1982). At ages 4 and 8, children completed the MacArthur Story Stem Battery (MSSB; Emde, Wolf, & Oppenheim, 2003), wherein they finished story stems about parent-child relationships (e.g., parental discipline, conflict, separation, reunion) using a set of toy dolls. Independent raters evaluated each story for instances of verbal and physical aggression and scores were composited across stories to indicate overall aggressive representations. Approximately six months following each laboratory assessment, teachers reported on children’s aggressive behavior at school (age 4.5, N = 171; age 8.5, N = 134) using Dodge and Coie’s (1987) Proactive and Reactive Aggression Scale.

Table 1 depicts descriptive statistics and bivariate relations among study variables. A MANOVA revealed a significant main effect of ethnicity/race (Wilks’ λ = .823; p < .001) for insensitive parenting (F = 3.415; p = .018) and aggression (F = 2.765; p = .043), such that Black children experienced more insensitive parenting (F = 3.415, p = .018) and were rated as more aggressive than other groups. There was also a main effect of gender (Wilks’ λ = .884; p < .001) with boys demonstrating higher aggression (F = 8.528; p = .004) than girls. The interaction between ethnicity/race and gender was significant (Wilks’ λ = .879; p < .029), with highest rates of preschooler aggression among multiracial girls and Black boys. Regression analyses using Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS Routine revealed a significant indirect effect from insensitive parenting at age 4 to teacher-reports of increased child aggression at age 8.5 through elevated aggressive representations (B = .034, SE = .0186, 95% CI [.0049,.0763]) over and above children’s prior aggressive representations and teacher-reported aggression, as well as gender, race/ethnicity, IQ and family SES.

These findings suggest children’s internalization of aggressive relational representations in the wake of insensitive parenting may contribute to escalating aggressive behavior across the transition to formal schooling. Parent-oriented interventions that focus on promoting support and warmth, and play-based interventions with children may help reduce aggressive behavioral escalation in school and with peers.

Authors

• Amanda Sadri, University of California - Riverside
  Presenting Author

• Brianne Coulombe, University of South Carolina Aiken

• Melanie Mooangprang

• Breannon James

• Tuppett M. Yates, University of California - Riverside