Longitudinal Analysis of Mothers’ Parenting Consistency’s Associations with Children’s Adjustment

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: A robust literature exists on the respective benefits and detriments of positive and negative parenting behaviors on children (e.g., Zhou et al., 2002; Scaramella, Sohr-Preston, Mirabile, Robison, & Callahan, 2008). However, less is known about the associations between children’s outcomes and consistency of parenting behaviors. This study sought to examine the relationship between valence and consistency of parenting behaviors, with the aim of determining whether consistency is associated with child psychological outcomes, independent of valence. METHOD: Data were collected from 167 mothers and their young children. Data were collected at two waves, when children were approximately 24.2 months old (SD = 1.76) and one year later (M age = 35.6 months, SD = 3.6). At each wave, mothers were instructed to interact with their children on a puzzle task, in which mothers oversaw their children attempting to complete a puzzle designed to be challenging enough so as to require maternal assistance. These interactions were coded on 6 parenting dimensions, each indicative of either positive or negative parenting (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 1999). Child behavior problems were derived from the internalizing and externalizing subscales of the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist 2-3 (Achenbach, 1992). The analytic plan for answering study hypotheses used bivariate correlations and multiple regression to establish 1) positive and negative parenting’s respective consistency over time, and 2) whether the direction of inconsistency (e.g., decreased vs. increased positive/negative parenting over time) moderated the relationship between inconsistency and child behavior problems. Confirmatory factor analysis of the 6 parenting indicators generated two parenting factors, “positive” (from sensitivity, positive regard toward child, stimulating cognitive development, and supportive engagement) and “negative” (from intrusiveness and negative regard toward child) parenting. RESULTS: Time 1 positive parenting better predicted Time 2 positive parenting than Time 1 negative parenting predicted Time 2 negative parenting, suggesting that positive parenting is more consistent than negative parenting. While absolute values of parenting consistency over time did not predict children’s behavior problems, increases in negative parenting factor scores were associated with concurrent increases in children’s externalizing symptoms. CONCLUSION: Positive parenting tends to be consistent over time. Negative parenting, while less consistent than positive parenting, also shows moderate consistency. Positive parenting consistency does not appear to be associated with children’s behavior based on the present analysis. However, increase in negative parenting over time was related to greater child behavior problems. This suggests that the direction of inconsistency is important for negative parenting, in that increases over time predict greater amounts of child maladjustment.

Authors

• David Brabham, University of New Orleans
  Presenting Author

• Sarah Black, University of New Orleans
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Scaramella, University of Arizona
  Non-Presenting Author