It is well-recognized that the individual characteristics of children moderate the effects of developmental conditions on the well-being of a child. The majority of interactions follow a diathesis–stress pattern; there is also evidence for differential susceptibility and vantage sensitivity models. The present study aimed to examine interactions between parenting and child personality in relation to the well-being of a Russian child and to evaluate the models for moderated relationships. Participants were primary caregivers of 370 children aged 2–7 years. Moderation effects were examined using hierarchical multiple regression and bivariate linear models. In order to differentiate between the models of environmental sensitivity, the analysis of regions of significance was used. Consistent with a diathesis–stress framework, the results revealed that among children low in conscientiousness and high in activity, punitive parenting was a risk factor for externalizing problems; among introverted and fearful children, punitive parenting was a risk factor for internalizing problems. Positive parenting/involvement was a protective factor for internalizing behavior, only for children low in openness. The findings also demonstrate the following evidence for the differential susceptibility model: children low in Beta higher-order personality trait (also known as plasticity or personal growth) showed more total problems when faced with low positive parenting, but fewer problems when experiencing high-quality parenting.
This study examined effortful control and its relations to personality, parenting and well‐being in a community sample of Russian preschool children (N = 365, 46% girls) using parent‐reported effortful control scale from the very short form of the children's behaviour questionnaire, the inventory of child individual differences–short version, the Alabama parenting questionnaire—preschool revision, the self‐reporting questionnaire, and parent and teacher reports on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. The findings confirmed the four‐factor structure of effortful control, including inhibitory control, attentional control, low‐intensity pleasure and perceptual sensitivity. Girls demonstrated higher scores than boys on effortful control, perceptual sensitivity, inhibitory control and low‐intensity pleasure. Older children scored higher than younger on inhibitory control and perceptual sensitivity and lower on low‐intensity pleasure. Gender and age accounted for less than 3% of the variance in effortful control. Effortful control was associated with personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness, and with positive emotions and low‐negative affect. Higher effortful control was associated with higher levels of prosocial behaviour and lower levels of externalising and internalising problems. Structural modelling showed that the effect of parenting on child prosocial and problem behaviours may be mediated by effortful control.
The study examined interactions between parenting and child effortful control in the prediction of problem behavior in Russian preschoolers in parent reports of 28-year-old children (N = 652). Effortful Control and its components, inhibitory control, attentional control, low-intensity pleasure, and perceptual sensitivity, were measured by the Very Short Form of the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ-VS). Positive parenting, punishment, and inconsistent discipline were measured by the Alabama Parenting QuestionnairePreschool Revision (APQ-R). Externalizing problems, internalizing problems, total difficulties, and impact of problems on the child’s life were measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The results indicated that effortful control and perceptual sensitivity interacted with parental punishment to predict externalizing problems and total difficulties such that temperament was more strongly related to problem behavior when parents used more punishment. In a similar way, inhibitory control was more strongly related to externalizing problems and their impact on the child’s life when parents used more punishment. The majority of moderating effects were consistent with the diathesis-stress or dual risk model. That is, temperament was more strongly related to externalizing and internalizing problems and their impact on the child’s life when parents used more punishment and were inconsistent in their use of discipline.
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