Predictors of Parenting: Family-Wide and Child-Specific Factors

Abstract

Objective. The goal of the study was to identify determinants of child perceptions of parenting. Design. By using two children per family, the current study predicted siblings' (106 pairs) perceptions of mothering and fathering at ages 9-13 from children's perceptions of parenting and parent ratings of child difficulty, parental emotionality, and household organization, when the children were 4-8 years old.Multilevel modeling was used to differentiate between-and within-family variation.Results. Stability in child perceptions was moderate, and this stability was due to family-wide parenting shared by siblings. Conversely, the majority of variance in the 9-to 13-year-olds' perceptions indicated differential, rather than similar, parental treatment. Maternal anger predicted maternal hostility. In contrast, household chaos predicted paternal hostility. Conclusions. Relationships between individuals in the family are part of a larger system, and children are equally as likely as parents to reap the benefits of services or interventions directed toward enhancing maternal wellbeing.Keywords: parenting, household chaos, multilevel modeling 3 Running head: PREDICTORS OF PARENTING INTRODUCTIONParental responsiveness and warmth have a powerful influence on children's behavior and development (Sroufe, 1997), and harsh parenting can have substantial effects on child maladjustment (Balge & Milner, 2000;Deater-Deckard & Dodge, 1997;Mammen, Kolko, & Pilkonis, 2002;Rodriguez & Green, 1997). As such, understanding the antecedents of parenting quality is an important area of enquiry (Belsky & Jaffee, 2006).The current study extends previous research by including two children per family, thereby addressing both family-wide and child-specific predictors across time for both fathers and mothers. The focus of the current study is children's perceptions of parenting. To place the current study in context, a focused review of determinants of parenting and family-wide versus child-specific parenting follows. Determinants of ParentingAn influential theoretical framework for considering predictors of parenting was formulated by Belsky (1984). Reviewing research from abusive families, Belsky postulated that child characteristics, personal resources of parents, and contextual factors are all important determinants of parenting. A review by Belsky and Jaffee (2006) outlined the factors that have demonstrated the strongest links with parenting quality: child temperament/difficulty, parental mental health, personality and developmental history, the marital relationship, and neighborhood. The current study focuses on two of these factors -child difficulty and parental personality (specifically proneness to anger) -as well as household organization. This selection was guided by theory and research, as outlined below, as well as being empirically based on the strongest correlates of parenting among our families during middle childhood (Pike, Coldwell, & Dunn, 2006). Running head: PREDICTORS OF PARENTINGThe inclusion of child characteristics in th...

The Relations Among Stress, Executive Functions, and Harsh Parenting in Mothers

“…The results for the first aim of this study confirmed the well-established relation between household chaos (as an indicator of stress) and harsh parenting behaviours (e.g., Coldwell et al, 2006;Mills-Koonce et al, 2016;Pike et al, 2016;Zvara et al, 2014), at least at the level of bivariate associations. Mothers who reported more chaotic homes that are disorganized, lacking routine, and noisy, also were more likely to parent their child harshly.…”

“…Studies have demonstrated links between household chaos and a variety of family outcomes such as decreased behavioural control in children (Vrijhof, van der Voort, Van IJzendoorn, & Euser, 2018), poor quality of coparenting (Whitesell, Teti, Crosby, & Kim, 2015), and negativity in the parent-child relationship (e.g., Kahn, Deater-Deckard, King-Casas, & Kim-Spoon, 2016;Nelson, O'Brien, Blankson, Calkins, & Keane, 2009). More specifically, and relevant to the current study, studies have demonstrated consistent links between household chaos and increased harsh parenting behaviours (e.g., Coldwell, Pike, & Dunn, 2006;Mills-Koonce et al, 2016;Pike, Atzaba-Poria, & Kretschmer, 2016;Zvara et al, 2014). For instance, household chaos was associated with mothers' reports of inconsistent discipline and their intention to utilize harsh parenting responses to children's negative emotions in a community sample of school-age children (Mokrova, O'Brien, Calkins, & Keane, 2010;Nelson et al, 2009).…”

The Relationship between Household Chaos and Child, Parent, and Family Outcomes: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…Household chaos was associated with increased parent-child conflict, decreased parentchild closeness, decreased supportive parenting, decreased positive parenting, and increased negative parenting (88), in addition to less favourable co-parenting, and less emotional availability at bedtime (99). A chaotic home environment was also shown to be associated with less responsive and less stimulating parenting (89), less effective parental discipline (10), greater non-supportive responses to children's emotions and fewer supportive responses (76,94), and greater paternal hostility (95). Greater chaos in the home was associated with increased odds of household members disturbing the efforts of adolescents to fall asleep, and decreased the odds of adolescents reporting that nothing was keeping them awake or making it difficult to sleep (97).…”

“…Twenty-one studies investigated the effects of household chaos on parenting and family functioning (4,10,46,76,(86)(87)(88)(89)(90)(91)(92)(93)(94)(95)(96)(97)(98)(99)(100)(101)(102), of which five focused on the role of household chaos as a mediator or moderator. Outcomes assessed included parenting, parent-child interactions, discipline, sibling relationships, parental response and reactions to child behaviours, family dysfunction, and food insecurity.…”

The Relationship between Household Chaos and Child, Parent, and Family Outcomes: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…Twenty-one studies investigated the effects of household chaos on parenting and family functioning (4,10,45,75,(85)(86)(87)(88)(89)(90)(91)(92)(93)(94)(95)(96)(97)(98)(99)(100)(101), of which five focused on the role of household chaos as a mediator or moderator. Outcomes assessed included parenting, parent-child interactions, discipline, sibling relationships, parental response and reactions to child behaviours, family dysfunction, and food insecurity.…”