Parenting Behavior Dimensions and Child Psychopathology: Specificity, Task Dependency, and Interactive Relations

Abstract

This study examined the specificity of relations between parent / caregiver behaviors and childhood internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of 70 fourth grade children (64% male, mean age = 9.7 years). Specificity was assessed via (a) unique effects, (b) differential effects, and (c) interactive effects. When measured as unique and differential effects, specificity was not found for warmth or psychological control but was found for caregiver's use of behavior control. Higher levels of behavior control were uniquely related to lower levels of externalizing problems and higher levels of internalizing problems; differential effects analyses indicated that higher levels of behavior control were related to decreases in the within-child difference in relative levels of level of internalizing vs. externalizing problems. Interactive relations among the three parenting behavior dimensions also were identified. Although caregivers emphasized different parenting behavior dimensions across two separate caregiver-child interaction tasks, relations between parenting behavior dimensions and child psychopathology did not vary as a function of task. These findings indicate the importance of assessing and simultaneously analyzing multiple parenting behavior dimensions and multiple child psychopathology domains.Forty years of parenting research have produced consensus regarding the importance of several dimensions of parenting behavior, including behavior control, psychological control, and warmth/support (e.g., Gray & Steinberg, 1999). Yet the precise nature of the relation of these parenting dimensions to child psychopathology remains unclear. For example, there is not yet consensus as to whether parenting behavior dimensions are best considered as categorical parenting styles (e.g., authoritative parenting, authoritarian parenting; Baumrind, 1991) based on simultaneous consideration of multiple dimensions, or as independent, continuous dimensions (e.g., psychological control; behavior control; Barber, 1996).Underlying the use of parenting style typologies (as opposed to separate dimensions of parenting) are several assumptions about the nature of parenting behaviors, including the belief that (a) parenting behaviors are themselves correlated (e.g., parents who are warm tend to use positive behavior control strategies), and thus parenting behaviors should be NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript considered in clusters rather than separately; and (b) the effects of one type of parenting behavior on children are dependent on the presence or absence of other parenting behaviors (i.e., parenting behaviors have interactive effects on child outcomes), and thus typologies should simultaneously consider multiple parenting behaviors. Although many studies have failed to find interactions among parenting behaviors in the prediction of child psychopathology (e.g., Barber, Olsen, & Shagle, 1994;Garber, Robinson, & Valentiner, 1997), others have found some evidence for interactive rel...

Parenting and child externalizing behaviors: Are the associations specific or diffuse?

“…As recently noted by Caron et al (2006), third variables must be controlled to conclude with confidence that a parenting behavior is related to a specific child outcome. In essence, by controlling for third variables (e.g., a second parenting behavior and/or a co-occurring child outcome), a unique effect between a parenting behavior and a child outcome can be specified.…”

“…Unfortunately, however, in the relatively small number of studies that have tested interactions, significant findings, such as those reported by Weaver and Prelow (2005) and Forehand and Nousianinen (1993), have rarely materialized (Barber, Olson, & Shagle, 1994;Galambos et al, 2003;Garber et al, 1997;Kurdek & Fine, 1994;Stice, Barrera, & Chassis, 1993). Caron et al (2006) proposed that examining interactions is one way to test for specificity, as interactions reveal whether a given parenting behavior is related to a given child outcome across all levels of a second parenting behavior (diffuse association) or only at particular levels of the second parenting behavior (specific association). However, consistent with the majority of studies reviewed in the previous paragraph, neither Caron et al (2006) nor Jones et al (2007) found a significant interaction between warmth and behavioral control.…”

“…Caron et al (2006) proposed that examining interactions is one way to test for specificity, as interactions reveal whether a given parenting behavior is related to a given child outcome across all levels of a second parenting behavior (diffuse association) or only at particular levels of the second parenting behavior (specific association). However, consistent with the majority of studies reviewed in the previous paragraph, neither Caron et al (2006) nor Jones et al (2007) found a significant interaction between warmth and behavioral control.…”

“…Second, appropriate controls, such as demographic variables, cannot be considered. In particular, unique effects as defined by Caron et al (2006) cannot be examined since other theoretically relevant variables cannot be controlled. For example, when examining the relation between hostile parenting and child externalizing problems, parental warmth cannot be taken into account.…”

“…Questions exploring parenting specificity ask whether specific parenting behaviors (e.g., behavioral control) are associated with specific child outcomes (e.g., externalizing problems) or whether the associations are more diffuse. Caron, Weiss, Harris, and Catron (2006) operationalized the concept by defining 1) unique, 2) differential, and 3) interactive effects of parenting on child outcomes. According to Caron and colleagues, unique effects focus on whether a specific parenting behavior (e.g., parental warmth) retains a significant relation with a specific child outcome (e.g., externalizing problems) once indirect relations through other variables (e.g., child internalizing problems and/or parental behavioral control) are controlled.…”