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Does Parenting Perfectionism Ironically Increase Violent Behaviors from Parent towards Children?
Alice Schittek1, Isabelle Roskam1, Moira Mikolajczak1
1Department of Psychology, UCLouvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 28, 2023
Summary
Parental violence towards children unexpectedly predicted increased perfectionistic strivings and concerns, not the reverse. Parental burnout did not mediate this relationship, challenging previous assumptions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Perfectionistic strivings (PS) and perfectionistic concerns (PC) in parenting are linked to parental burnout (PB).
- Parental burnout (PB) is causally associated with increased violence towards offspring.
- The potential for parenting perfectionism to paradoxically increase child violence warrants investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine if parenting perfectionism (PS and PC) predicts offspring violence.
- To determine if parental burnout (PB) mediates the relationship between parenting perfectionism and offspring violence.
- To test the hypothesis that increased PS and PC lead to increased violence via increased PB.
Main Methods:
- A pre-registered, longitudinal online survey design was employed.
- 228 participants completed three measurement occasions spaced two months apart.
- Cross-lagged path models and mediation analyses were conducted.
Main Results:
- Contrary to hypotheses, offspring violence prospectively predicted increased PS and PC.
- Parental burnout (PB) was not found to be a significant mediator in this relationship.
- Results remained consistent when controlling for social desirability.
Conclusions:
- Violence towards offspring appears to increase the risk for developing perfectionistic strivings and concerns in parents.
- Concerns that parenting perfectionism may paradoxically increase child violence seem unwarranted based on current findings.
- Longitudinal and causal designs are crucial for advancing understanding in the child maltreatment and parental burnout literature.
Keywords:
abuselongitudinalmaltreatmentparental burnoutperfectionismperfectionistic concernsperfectionistic strivingsviolenceMore Related Videos
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