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Interaction between maternal and paternal parenting styles with infant temperament in emerging behavior problems

Shannon M O Wittig1, Christina M Rodriguez1

  • 1University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States.

Infant Behavior & Development
|May 20, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Infant temperament, specifically surgency, influences how parenting styles affect children's behavior. These complex interactions between infant traits and parenting styles emerge early in development.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Parenting styles significantly impact child behavioral outcomes.
  • Infant temperament is recognized as a crucial factor influencing child development.
  • Understanding the interplay between temperament and parenting is vital for early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interaction effects of infant temperament and parental styles on child behaviors.
  • To examine how infant surgency, negative affect, and regulatory capacity moderate the links between parenting and child externalizing/internalizing behaviors.
  • To explore these interactions simultaneously for both maternal and paternal parenting.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study design with a diverse sample of mothers and fathers.
  • Mothers and fathers reported on infant temperament at 6 months.
  • Parenting styles and child behaviors (externalizing/internalizing) were assessed one year later.

Main Results:

  • Infant surgency moderated the relationship between maternal authoritative parenting and externalizing behaviors.
  • Infant surgency also moderated the relationship between paternal permissive parenting and externalizing behaviors.
  • Infant surgency moderated the relationship between maternal authoritarian parenting and internalizing behaviors, as well as paternal authoritative parenting and internalizing behaviors.
  • No significant interactions were found for negative affect or orienting/regulatory capacity.

Conclusions:

  • Infant temperament, particularly surgency, plays a moderating role in the association between parenting styles and child behavioral outcomes.
  • These interaction effects between infant temperament and parenting styles appear to manifest early in development.
  • Findings highlight the importance of considering both child characteristics and parenting practices in understanding behavioral development.

Keywords:
Externalizing behavior problemsInfant temperamentInternalizing behavior problemsLongitudinalModerationParenting styles

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