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Infant temperament moderates relations between maternal parenting in early childhood and children's adjustment in

Anne Dopkins Stright1, Kathleen Cranley Gallagher, Ken Kelley

  • 1Human Development Program, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. astright@indiana.edu

Child Development
|February 14, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Childrens temperament influences how parenting affects development. Difficult temperaments amplify both positive and negative parenting impacts on academic and social skills in first grade.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • The differential susceptibility hypothesis suggests individual differences in sensitivity to environmental influences.
  • Infants with challenging temperaments may exhibit heightened responses to parenting quality compared to those with easier temperaments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether infant temperament moderates the relationship between early childhood parenting and first-grade outcomes.
  • To examine how parenting styles influence academic competence, social skills, and peer relationships based on temperament.

Main Methods:

  • Latent change curve analyses were employed.
  • Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care (NICHD ECC) were utilized.

Main Results:

  • Temperament significantly moderated the association between maternal parenting and children's first-grade outcomes.
  • The impact of parenting on academic competence, social skills, and peer relationships was more pronounced in infants with difficult temperaments.
  • Difficult temperament infants showed better adjustment with high-quality parenting and poorer adjustment with lower-quality parenting.

Conclusions:

  • Findings support the differential susceptibility hypothesis, indicating that temperament plays a crucial role in mediating parenting effects.
  • Child adjustment is contingent upon the interplay between temperament and the quality of early parenting experiences.
  • Understanding these moderating effects is vital for tailored parenting interventions and support systems.

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