Temperament as a moderator of the effects of parenting on children's behavior

Abstract

This study examined the role of child temperament as moderator of the effect of parenting style on children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors. A series of structural equation models were fit to a representative sample of 2,631 Canadian children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. In addition to testing for the presence of Temperament × Parenting interactions, these models also examined the direct and indirect effects of a number of additional contextual factors such as neighborhood problems, neighborhood cohesion, social support, and maternal depression. The results indicate that exposure to more positive parenting reduces behavior problems in children with difficult/unadaptable temperaments. No moderating effects of temperament on hostile parenting were found. Such results serve to highlight the pivotal role of positive features of the rearing environment as catalysts for the successful adaptation of children with difficult/unadaptable temperaments. The results of this modeling work also serve to emphasize the importance of considering the ways in which more distal factors can affect children's behavioral adaptation by contributing to changes in proximal family processes.

Ingredients for Criminality Require Genes, Temperament, and Psychopathic Personality

“…3 The news is not entirely grim. In a study of 2,631 children from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, Gallitto (2014) reported that children with difficult temperaments who were exposed to more positive parenting had reduced problem behaviors. 4 Even studies that purport to find questionable field reliability of psychopathy measures nevertheless show significant agreement in assessments of psychopathic offenders.…”

Mother-child interactions and young child behavior during procedural conscious sedation

“…One cannot deny the role of child temperament as a mediator in the effect of parenting [24]. Children with more difficult/unadaptable temperaments respond more negatively to a lack of positive parenting and, then, present worsened externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems, compared with those without such temperamental characteristics [24].…”

“…Children with more difficult/unadaptable temperaments respond more negatively to a lack of positive parenting and, then, present worsened externalizing and internalizing behavioral problems, compared with those without such temperamental characteristics [24]. Future studies should investigate the association among parental educational social skills (or parenting styles), child behavior during procedural sedation and child temperament.…”

Adolescents’ Behaviors as Moderators for the Link between Parental Self-Efficacy and Parenting Practices

“…This scale included 33 descriptions of difficult behaviors; examples are “Disobedient at home,” “Gets in many fights,” “Stubborn, sullen, or irritable,” and “Uses alcohol or drugs.” Response options ranged from 0 ( Not true [as far as I know] ) to 2 ( Very true or often true ). The CBCL has demonstrated strong associations with other measures of child externalizing behaviors as well as positive and negative parenting behaviors (e.g., Gallitto 2015; Pearl et al 2014). Cronbach’s alpha for this scale was .81.…”