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Inconsistent parenting: is there evidence for a link with children's conduct problems?
1Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, London, England.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|April 1, 1989
Summary
Mothers of preschoolers with conduct problems are more inconsistent in discipline during conflicts. This inconsistency strongly correlates with family conflict, offering new insights into child behavior problems.
Area of Science:
- Child psychology
- Developmental psychology
- Family studies
Background:
- Parental inconsistency in discipline is traditionally linked to child conduct problems.
- Previous observational studies had methodological limitations and showed weaker links.
- A novel observational definition of parental inconsistency was needed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce and validate a new observational measure of parental inconsistency.
- To examine the relationship between observed parental inconsistency and conduct problems in preschoolers.
- To explore the contextual factors influencing parental inconsistency during mother-child conflict.
Main Methods:
- Home-based observational study of mother-child interactions during conflict episodes.
- Analysis of maternal follow-through on demands during conflict sequences.
- Comparison of inconsistency levels between mothers of conduct-problem preschoolers and normal counterparts.
Main Results:
- Mothers of preschoolers with conduct problems exhibited significantly higher rates of inconsistency.
- Parental inconsistency showed a strong positive correlation with the overall amount of family conflict.
- Inconsistency was found to be context-dependent, varying with the origin of the conflict.
Conclusions:
- The new observational definition effectively captures meaningful variations in parental discipline.
- Observed parental inconsistency is a significant factor associated with preschooler conduct problems.
- Findings support coercion and predictability theories in understanding child behavior and family dynamics.
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