Parental Reports of Early Socioemotional and Behavioral Problems: Does the Father's View Make a Difference?

Abstract

Although both mothers and fathers are essential sources of information to address early socioemotional/behavioral (SEB) problems, there continues to be a dearth of studies considering both parental views. A sample of 208 toddlers (M = 19.3 months) was recruited through public child health centers. Both parents of 172 toddlers (76 boys, 96 girls) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) 1-5 (T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, 2000; Finnish translation by F. Almqvist, ). Correspondence (intraclass correlation coefficients; ICCs) between the maternal and paternal CBCL ratings was good (.64) for the Internalizing and excellent (.76) for the Externalizing and Total Problems scores whereas ICCs varied from .45 for the Withdrawn to .76 for the Sleep Problems and Aggressive Behavior syndrome scores. Regarding discrepancies, mothers consistently reported higher CBCL scale scores than did fathers. Most significant differences between the parental ratings were found on the Aggressive Behavior syndrome, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Interparental rating discrepancies increased with elevations in the corresponding CBCL scale scores. Positive correlations were found between maternal, but not paternal, parenting stress and interparental rating discrepancies on the CBCL. The observed differences between maternal and paternal ratings highlight the importance of gathering reports from both parents when assessing early SEB problems. The findings are more profoundly discussed in the article.

Validation of the Preschool Attachment Rating Scales with child-mother and child-father dyads

“…This is in line with previous work suggesting that the broader externalizing scale is more appropriate for low-risk samples (Goodman, Lamping, & Ploubidis, 2010). We used averaged scores of mother-and father-reported externalizing problems, as previous research suggests that averaged parental report can avoid the over-or underestimation of children's behavioral problems that is associated with single informants (Alakortes et al, 2017). The internal consistency of the externalizing problems scale was adequate (=.80).…”

The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study on the Emotional-Behavioral Sequelae for Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Their Families

“…In fact, mothers reported higher CBCL scores on all the scales considered at both T0 and T1 compared to fathers. Discrepancies between the CBCL scores of mothers and fathers have been already described in the literature, with higher scores reported by the former (e.g., [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]). A possible explanation of this difference may be linked to parental stress, which is usually higher in mothers due to their primary caregiving role [ 68 ].…”

“…Discrepancies between the CBCL scores of mothers and fathers have been already described in the literature, with higher scores reported by the former (e.g., [ 68 , 69 , 70 ]). A possible explanation of this difference may be linked to parental stress, which is usually higher in mothers due to their primary caregiving role [ 68 ]. In particular, this role became more difficult during the lockdown since mothers had to conciliate time spent with their children, personal work, and family management [ 19 ].…”

The impact of children’s socioemotional development on parenting styles: the moderating effect of social withdrawal

“…However, mothers' and fathers' approaches to interacting with children may be different (Paquette, 2004) in a way that mothers may be the primary caregiver and fathers the primary playmate (Major, Seabra-Santos, & Martin, 2020). Thus, fathers may assess their child's behaviours more positively than mothers (Alakortes et al, 2017), making them less suitable for prosocial behaviour of socially withdrawn children. Possibly, prosocial behaviour in these children is not seen as positive behaviour by mothers, but rather as detrimental.…”