Mama Mach and Papa Mach: Parental Machiavellianism in relation to dyadic coparenting and adolescents’ perception of parental behaviour

Abstract

Parental personality is a main contributor to parenting outcomes. However, research on parental personality and parenting or coparenting behaviour is scarce. These few studies showed that disagreeableness and neuroticism are consequently related to negative parenting outcomes. Machiavellianism is an antagonistic and socially aversive personality trait. Machiavellianism has been linked to unfavourable outcomes in several different types of relationships (e.g., romantic relationships, workplace relationships). Using self-report measures, I investigated the association between parental Machiavellianism, adolescents’ perceptions of parenting behaviour, and parent reported coparenting in a sample of 98 families raising adolescents. According to the results, Machiavellianism was positively related to adolescents’ perceptions of rejecting and overprotective parenting behaviour in mothers. With regard to coparenting, fathers’ Machiavellianism had a negative effect both on their own and on their spouses’ reports of coparenting quality. Differences between fathers’ and mothers’ results are discussed with regard to their functions in the parent-child interaction and in the spousal dyad.

A Tri-Directional Examination of Parental Personality, Parenting Behaviors, and Contextual Factors in Influencing Adolescent Behavioral Outcomes

“…The “darker” nature of Machiavellianism and psychopathy appears to extend to the use of negative parenting strategies. Both maternal and paternal Machiavellianism are associated with adolescent perceived parental rejection (Láng, 2018 ). Results indicate that, in addition to parental rejection, mothers high on Machiavellianism display hostile and aggressive parenting behaviors towards their offspring.…”

“…Therefore, narcissism may be associated with parenting that is adaptive (i.e., warmth) or maladaptive (i.e., high control) for youth depending on the specific parental narcissistic traits assessed. Whereas parental Machiavellianism and psychopathy have been solely linked with negative parenting behaviors (Krupić et al, 2020 ; Láng, 2018 ). Structural analyses of narcissism indicate that narcissism consists of three major traits, identified as agentic extraversion (e.g., assertiveness), antagonism (e.g., exploitation), and narcissistic neuroticism (e.g., need for admiration; Truhan et al, 2021 ).…”

Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment of Children

“…From the regression analyses, it can also be seen that Machiavellianism and sadism significantly predicted favorable attitudes toward child corporal punishment. Individuals high in Machiavellianism tend to behave in a cold and insensitive manner, it is therefore not surprising that their parental attitudes may contain elements of neglect and/or abuse (Láng, 2018). Sadism, characterized by a unique pleasure-driven form of aggression, is predictive of behaviors reflecting an appetite for cruelty (Buckels et al, 2013); the use of physical force to inflict pain on children is arguably a form of cruel treatment.…”

Why Parents Misuse Prescription Drugs to Enhance the Cognitive Performance of Healthy Children: The Influence of Peers and Social Media

“…Together with sex and age, we consider this variable exploratorily in the analysis to better understand this underexplored phenomenon since prior research indicates a covariation with parenting and/or CE drug use (willingness) (Borra & Sevilla, 2019; Láng, 2018; Sattler & Wiegel, 2013; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2019; Wall, 2010; Wilens et al, 2008).…”