Longitudinal Effects of Parenting Behaviors on Early School-Age Children’s Problem Behaviors: Mediating Effect of Executive Function Difficulties

Abstract

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal effects of parenting behaviors and early school-age children's executive function difficulties on problem behaviors. Methods: The data for this longitudinal study were drawn from the eighth, ninth, and tenth waves of the Panel Study on Korean Children. A total of 1,228 children and their families participated. Fathers and mothers reported their parenting behaviors at Time 1 (first grade), mothers reported children's executive function difficulties at Time 2 (second grade), and caregivers reported children's problem behaviors at Time 3 (third grade). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: First, paternal and maternal warmth did not have a direct effect on children's problem behaviors. Second, maternal warmth had an indirect effect on children's problem behaviors through executive function difficulties. In other words, when mothers displayed less warmth, children have more problems with executive function, which, in turn, led to more problem behaviors. Conclusion: This study confirmed that maternal warmth and children's executive function are protective factors for early school-age children's problem behaviors. These findings provide a better understanding of the mechanisms linking parenting behaviors to later problem behaviors in children.

The Reciprocal Longitudinal Relationship between Executive Dysfunction and Happiness in Korean Children

“…The results of this study provide evidence of the reciprocal associations between executive dysfunction and happiness in a sample of Korean children. Our findings are consistent with prior research on the effects of EF on socio-emotional functions [10,13,16,17] and behavioral problems [3,9,14,15]. In addition, the results are consistent with the literature on the effects of emotion on EF [20,26], particularly positive emotions [14,30,32].…”

“…Our findings are consistent with prior research on the effects of EF on socio-emotional functions [10,13,16,17] and behavioral problems [3,9,14,15]. In addition, the results are consistent with the literature on the effects of emotion on EF [20,26], particularly positive emotions [14,30,32]. The findings also provide additional empirical evidence to support the broaden-and-build theory of positive psychology.…”

“…The negative impact of executive dysfunction on one's emotion and behaviors has been documented in several Korean studies as well. For instance, Park et al found that parent ratings of children's EF difficulties in second grade predicted problem behaviors in third grade [14]. Shin and her colleagues also showed that parent ratings of preschoolers' executive dysfunction was positively associated with depressive symptoms and aggressive behaviors [15].…”

The Influence of Mothers’ Parenting Sensitivity on Aggression of Toddlers: The Moderated Mediation Effect of Inhibitory Control and Negative Emotionality

“…107 Aggression of Toddlers and Mothers Parenting Sensitivity (Kong & Lim, 2012;B. Park & Noh, 2020;Sulik et al, 2015;van Dijk et al, 2017).…”