Relation of Adolescent Mothers' History of Antisocial Behavior to Child Conduct Problems and Social Competence

Abstract

We examined the extent to which maternal antisocial behavior (ASB) is directly related to child conduct problems and social competence and assessed the potential mediating role of negative parenting. The sample included 93 adolescent mothers and their children (44 boys, 49 girls). Mothers retrospectively reported about their ASB since the child's birth, through Grade 2. Negative parenting was coded during a parent-child interaction task (PCIT) at Grade 2. Teachers assessed child outcomes at Grade 3. Maternal ASB during the child's life was directly related to parenting and both child outcomes. In the overall sample, negative parenting partially mediated the relation between maternal ASB and child conduct problems. However, the pattern of relations differed by sex. For boys, maternal ASB was directly related to conduct problems, independent of parenting. For girls, maternal ASB was strongly related to parenting but not conduct problems. Negative parenting did not mediate the relation between maternal ASB and child social competence. Implications for intervention and future research are discussed.

Father’s and Mother’s Perceptions of Parenting Styles as Mediators of the Effects of Parental Psychopathology on Antisocial Behavior in Outpatient Children and Adolescents

“…Maternal psychopathology maintains a direct association with ASB in children. These results are consistent with other studies on parental mediation, which suggest that the direct effect of maternal psychopathology persists despite the inclusion of mediators [8,22]. This direct link may suggest that alterations in the mother's psychological functioning (changes in emotions or mood) can directly affect children and adolescents.…”

“…Likewise, negative parenting partially mediated the relationship between maternal ASB and conduct problems in children [8].…”

“…Maternal depression [4], paternal depression [5] or both [6] have been associated with ASB in offspring. On the other hand, researchers have found that paternal ASB [7], maternal ASB [8], parental alcoholism [9], paternal drug dependence [10] and paternal antisocial personality disorder [11] predict the presence of ASB or conduct disorder in children and adolescents. Parental anxiety has also been associated with externalizing problems in children [12,13].…”

“…As regards children's sex, research has offered discrepant findings. Rhule et al [8] showed that maternal ASB had a direct effect on boys' conduct problems that was not accounted for by parenting; however, in girls, maternal ASB was only associated with negative parenting, and not with behavior problems. In contrast, in a study that included only girls, Pajer et al [33] found that the effect of parental ASB on the presence of child conduct disorder was not mediated by parental behavior (negative discipline).…”

Unpacking Links between Fathers’ Antisocial Behaviors and Children’s Behavior Problems: Direct, Indirect, and Interactive Effects

“…A handful of recent studies have found significant relationships between fathers' (Smith and Farrington 2004), mothers' (Rhule et al 2004), and both parents' (Blazei et al 2008;Jaffee et al 2003) antisocial behaviors and children's externalizing problems in early to middle childhood. One primary limitation is a lack of research assessing a potential link between parents' antisocial behaviors and children's internalizing behaviors (see Marmorstein and Iacono 2004 for an example with adolescents).…”