The goal of this work was to examine the complex interrelation of mothers’ early gentle control and sensitivity in predicting children’s effortful control (EC) and academic functioning. Maternal gentle control, maternal sensitivity, and children’s EC were measured when children were 18, 30, and 42 months of age (T1, T2, and T3, respectively), and measures of children’s academic functioning were combined across 72 and 84 months (T5/T6; Ns= 255, 222, 200, 162, and 143). Using structural equation modeling, results demonstrated that T1 maternal sensitivity moderated the relation between T1 maternal gentle control and T2 EC, and T3 EC predicted children’s later academic functioning. There was evidence for moderated mediation, such that when maternal sensitivity was high, children’s EC mediated the relation between T1 maternal gentle control and children’s academic functioning, even after controlling for stability of the constructs. The relation between maternal gentle control and children’s EC was not significant under conditions of low maternal sensitivity. Implications for parenting programs are offered and future research directions are discussed.

The current longitudinal study examined the effect of the transmission of maladaptive parenting strategies from grandmothers to adolescent mothers on children’s subsequent development. Mexican-origin adolescent mothers (N = 204) participated in home interviews when the adolescent’s child (89 boys, 60 girls) was 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old. Grandmothers’ psychological control toward the adolescent mother was positively related to adolescents’ potential for abuse 1 year later, which was subsequently positively related to adolescents’ punitive discipline toward their young child. In addition, adolescent mothers’ punitive discipline subsequently predicted greater externalizing problems and less committed compliance among their children. Adolescent mothers’ potential for abuse and punitive discipline mediated the effects of grandmothers’ psychological control on children’s externalizing problems. Finally, adolescent mothers’ potential for abuse mediated the effect of grandmothers’ psychological control on adolescent mothers’ punitive discipline. Results highlight the salience of long-term intergenerational effects of maladaptive parenting on children’s behavior.

We modeled by-gender risk paths of maternal, paternal, and parental psychological control effects on emerging adult overt and peer relational aggression using structural equation models. The effect of adolescent conduct problems on emerging adults’ (aged 18–24) aggression was examined through its effect on parents’ psychological control. Additionally, a social–cognitive mediation model of aggression was tested linking conduct problems and parents’ psychological control with hostility and low guilt and concern for harming others. Results highlighted the salience of the social–cognitive model for female emerging adults’ aggression risk. For example, maternal/paternal psychological control and hostility mediated effects of conduct problems on female aggression types. Additionally, combined parental psychological control and hostility mediated effects of conduct problems on female aggression types.

Background This study examined transactional associations among maternal depression, maternal sensitivity, and child engagement in the context of a low‐income, diverse sample with maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) as a moderator of these transactions. Methods A random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel model was used to investigate within‐ and between‐family variability from infancy to toddlerhood. The sample included 247 mother–child dyads (47% girls; 51% African‐American; 178 MSDP, 69 non‐MSDP). Assessments were conducted once during each trimester of pregnancy and at 2, 9, 16, and 24 months of child ages. Results Between‐family associations revealed that children exposed to higher levels of sensitive parenting across time had higher behavioral engagement from infancy to toddlerhood. At the within‐family level, increased sensitive parenting at 9 months was predictive of increased child engagement at 16 months which in turn predicted increases in sensitive parenting at 24 months. Increased maternal depression was concurrently associated with lower maternal sensitivity at 2 months and lower child engagement at 16 months. Contrary to hypotheses, changes in maternal depression were not associated to changes in parenting or child engagement. These associations did not vary between prenatally smoking and nonsmoking mothers. However, there was significantly higher stability in maternal depression across time among nonsmoking mothers compared to those in the MSDP group. Additionally, increased maternal depression was related to lower‐than‐expected child engagement at 9 months only for the nonsmoking group. Conclusions Results highlight transactional processes at the within‐family level and the importance of timing for parent and child effects on transactional processes.

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