Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
The Impact of Children's Temperament on How Parents Resolve Safety Disagreements During Preadolescence
Alexa Kane1, Barbara A Morrongiello1
1Psychology Department, University of Guelph.
Insights
Child temperament influences how parents handle safety disagreements during preadolescence. Tailoring safety messages to a child
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Parenting Research
Background:
- Preadolescence (ages 10-13) is a critical period where children seek increased autonomy.
- This developmental stage complicates parental supervision and safety management.
- Understanding parent-child dynamics in safety discussions is crucial for child well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate parent-child disagreements concerning child safety.
- To determine if child temperament attributes moderate the link between parental awareness of disagreements and their resolution.
- To inform targeted safety interventions for preadolescent children.
Main Methods:
- Employed a short-term longitudinal research design.
- Parents and children collaboratively recalled safety disagreements, followed by independent questionnaires.
- Parents monitored disagreements prospectively over a one-month period.
Main Results:
- Child temperament significantly moderated the relationship between parental knowledge source and disagreement resolution.
- Specifically, inhibitory control and risk-taking propensity influenced how disagreements were managed.
- Parental awareness of safety issues and subsequent resolution strategies are child-attribute dependent.
Conclusions:
- Safety communication strategies for parents of preadolescents should be individualized.
- Tailoring messages based on specific child temperament traits (e.g., inhibitory control, risk-taking) can enhance effectiveness.
- This approach supports better safety outcomes by aligning with the child's developmental needs and characteristics.
Objectives:
Parents play an important role in keeping their children safe. However, this becomes more difficult during preadolescence as children seek greater autonomy away from the direct supervision of adults. The current study focused on preadolescent youth (10-13 years) and examined parent-child disagreements about safety, with a focus on determining if child temperament attributes moderate the relation between how parents learn of these and resolve these disagreements.
Methods:
A short-term longitudinal design was used. Parents and children retrospectively recalled safety disagreements together and then independently completed questionnaires about these. Parents then tracked disagreements over 1 month.
Results:
The behavioral attributes of inhibitory control and risk-taking propensity both moderated the relationships between parental source of knowledge of safety disagreements and subsequent methods of resolution.
Conclusion:
Safety-promotion messaging for parents of preadolescents may need to be tailored based on child attributes to maximize effectiveness.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Socioemotional Development during Infancy
Primary Temperament Types
01:27Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
03:34Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
01:28Adler's Individual Psychology
01:29Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings