Bidirectional Relations Between Temperament and Parenting Predicting Preschool-Age Children’s Adjustment

Abstract

Objective: Bidirectional associations between child temperament (fear, frustration, positive affect, effortful control) and parenting behaviors (warmth, negativity, limit setting, scaffolding, responsiveness) were examined as predictors of preschool-age children’s adjustment problems and social competence. Method: Participants were a community sample of children (N = 306; 50% female; 64% European American) and their mothers. Observational measures of child temperament and parenting were obtained using laboratory tasks at two time points (children’s ages 36 and 54 months). Teacher-reported adjustment measures were collected at the first and third time points (children’s ages 36 and 63 months). Results: Cross-lagged analyses were performed to examine whether child temperament and parenting predict changes in one another, whether they each contribute independently to children’s adjustment, and whether these transactional relations account for adjustment outcomes. Maternal negativity at 36 months predicted increases in child frustration at 54 months. Maternal negativity and child effortful control predicted decreases in each other from 36 to 54 months. Maternal warmth predicted increases in child effortful control over time. Child frustration, child effortful control, maternal warmth, and maternal negativity at 54 months each independently predicted child adjustment problems at 63 months, controlling for problems at 36 months. Child executive control at 54 months predicted increases in child social competence at 63 months. Conclusions: The findings suggest that temperament and parenting have independent and additive effects on preschool-age child adjustment, with some support for a bidirectional relation.

Maternal scaffolding during play with 12- to 24-month-old infants: stability over time and relations with emerging effortful control

“…This suggests that dyads with contingent parents and successful children were engaged in a form of positive feedback loop where contingent interventions led to child success, and child success then led back to contingent interventions. This reflects the reciprocal, intrinsically intersubjective nature of scaffolding (Salonen et al 2007), and is consistent with the recent findings of Klein et al (2016) who identified a bidirectional relationship in preschool dyadic interaction whereby maternal behaviour influences child development and vice versa. The presence of such dyadic feedback loops represents both a challenge and an opportunity for intervention science: the challenge comes from the fact that positive developmental feedback loops mean that more capable children are more able to elicit and internalise effective parental intervention, and so become yet more capable, whereas at-risk children struggle to elicit or benefit from the kind of parental intervention which could improve their developmental outcomes.…”

Children’s Temperament: A Bridge between Mothers’ Parenting and Aggression

“…The second aim of this study was to test the mediating effects of children’s temperament between mothers’ parenting and children’s aggression from the mothers’ perspective. Previous research has consistently confirmed that parental behaviors can shape children’s temperament and emotional and self-regulatory characteristics, which in turn affect children’s adjustment [ 10 , 13 , 24 ]. Specifically, maternal discipline and communication seem to facilitate children’s positive emotions, discourage negative affects and develop effective emotional regulation [ 21 , 22 ].…”

“…Child temperament and parental socialization have been established as potential mechanisms that contribute to behavioral problems [ 5 , 6 ]. Both temperament and parenting not only seem to contribute uniquely and simultaneously to children’s behavioral and emotional adjustment, but they can also both affect each other in a bidirectional process that may contribute to exacerbating or inhibiting behavioral problems [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Parents can shape children’s temperament and emotional and self-regulatory characteristics, which in turn are key predictors of children’s adjustment [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

DRD4 Variants Moderate the Impact of Parental Characteristics on Child Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Exploratory Evidence from a Multiplex Family Design

“…In addition, individual differences in child temperament also appear to influence parental behaviors (Klein et al 2016). Such effects have been documented in very young children and have also shown to have lasting effects across development, which then serve to further exacerbate (or perhaps attenuate) youth behavioral and emotional problems (Barnett and Scaramella 2015).…”