Paternal Hostility and Maternal Hostility in European American and African American Families

Abstract

The authors examined the hypothesized influence of maternal and paternal hostility on youth delinquency over time. The investigation addressed significant gaps in earlier research on parental hostility, including the neglect of father effects, especially in African American families. Using prospective, longitudinal data from community samples of European American (n = 422) and African American (n = 272) 2-parent families, the authors examined the independent effects of paternal and maternal hostility on youth delinquency. The results indicated that paternal hostility significantly predicted relative increases in youth delinquent behaviors above and beyond the effects of maternal hostility; conversely, maternal hostility did not predict youth delinquency after controlling for paternal hostility. Multiple-group analyses yielded similar results for both ethnic groups and for boys and girls. These results underscore the importance of including both parents in research on diverse families. Neglecting fathers provides an incomplete account of parenting in relation to youth development.

A Socioecological Perspective on Intimate Partner Violence Research: A Decade in Review

“…Other studies find support for the protective role of maternal sensitivity or positive parenting and child self‐esteem (for victimization) and prosocial friends (for perpetration; e.g., Garrido & Taussig, ). Wu et al () found paternal hostility (including physical acts) directed at youth predicted relative increases in delinquency over time in both African American and White families, but only for paternal not maternal hostility (even though frequency of maternal hostility was higher).…”

Hostility Patterns

“…Parental hostility was the only significant predictor for children’s bullying in 52 parent/caregivers studied in an evaluation of a program to reduce early childhood bullying (Burkhart, Knox, & Brockmyer, 2013). Paternal hostility, in particular, significantly predicted relative increases in youth delinquent behaviors (Wu et al, 2014). Also, maternal hostility has been found to predict disruptive behavior in children and is defined as “maternal anger, criticism, negativity and disapproval directed towards the child” (Sellers et al, 2014, p. 112).…”