The relation between harsh parenting and bullying involvement and the moderating role of child inhibitory control: A population‐based study

Abstract

Harsh parenting has been linked to children's bullying involvement in three distinct roles: perpetrators, targets (of bullying), and perpetrator‐targets. To understand how the same parenting behavior is associated with three different types of bulling involvement, we examined the moderating roles of children's inhibitory control and sex. In addition, we differentiated between mothers’ and fathers’ harsh parenting. We analyzed multi‐informant questionnaire data from 2131 families participating in the Dutch Generation R birth cohort study. When children were three years old, parents reported on their own harsh parenting practices. When children were four, mothers reported on their children's inhibitory control. At child age six, teachers reported on children's bullying involvement. Our results revealed that fathers’, and not mothers’, harsh parenting increased the odds of being a perpetrator. No moderation effects with children's inhibitory control and sex were found for the likelihood of being a perpetrator. Moderation effects were present for the likelihood of being a target and a perpetrator‐target, albeit only with mothers’ harsh parenting. Specifically, for boys with lower‐level inhibitory control problems, mothers’ harsh parenting increased the odds of being a target. In contrast, for boys with higher‐level inhibitory control problems, mothers’ harsh parenting decreased the odds of being a target. Furthermore, for girls with higher‐level inhibitory control problems, mothers’ harsh parenting increased the odds of being a perpetrator‐target. Overall, our results underscore the importance of differentiating by children's cognitive skills and by parent and child sex to fully understand how harsh parenting and bullying involvement are related.

The Role of Mindfulness in Mitigating the Detrimental Effects of Harsh Parenting among Chinese Adolescents: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model in a Three-Wave Study

“…According to the COR theory, adolescents suffering from harsh parenting are likely to deplete more resources to cope with physical and verbal aggression [ 25 , 26 ], and they have difficulties replenishing resources from the family. This may lead them to generate more negative self-evaluations (e.g., lower self-esteem and self-recognition) and environmental expectations and appraisals (e.g., bullying, low self-control capability [ 53 ]), which increases depressive symptoms.…”

“…Firstly, although we demonstrated the mediating role of depressive symptoms in the relationship between harsh parenting and suicidal ideation, other potential mediating mechanisms may exist. For example, adolescents who experience harsh parenting are more likely to form a low sense of self-worth and be bullied in school due to that low sense of self-worth [ 53 ]. Therefore, harsh parenting may influence adolescents’ suicidal ideation through increased exposure to bullying.…”

“…This cognitive process may represent mindfulness, which is stimulated by intentional attention to what is happening and a non-critical attitude [ 52 ]. In other words, mindfulness emphasizes openness and acceptance, and people experience all their thoughts and feelings in this process from a position of awareness and a lack of judgment [ 53 , 54 ].…”

Child internalizing and externalizing behaviors: Interplay between maternal depressive symptoms and child inhibitory control

“…Rather than different levels of inhibitory control predicting a certain behavioral problem, variations in children's inhibitory control could serve to explain the commonly observed link between environmental influences and behavioral problems (van Dijk et al, 2017). Support for this notion comes from recent research showing that inhibitory control moderates the association between other negative environmental influences and child behaviors (Hogye et al, 2022;Yu et al, 2018). For example, assessing the relationship between harsh parenting and child involvement in bullying, Hogye et al (2022) found that girls who struggle with inhibitory control are more negatively affected by mothers harsh parenting in the sense that they are more likely to act as the perpetrator.…”

“…Support for this notion comes from recent research showing that inhibitory control moderates the association between other negative environmental influences and child behaviors (Hogye et al, 2022;Yu et al, 2018). For example, assessing the relationship between harsh parenting and child involvement in bullying, Hogye et al (2022) found that girls who struggle with inhibitory control are more negatively affected by mothers harsh parenting in the sense that they are more likely to act as the perpetrator. Children with low levels of inhibitory control have also been found to be more vulnerable to the implications of physical punishment-as reflected in increased externalizing problems (Yu et al, 2018).…”