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Daily Parental Responses To Disruptive Child Behavior: A Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis
Merlin Nieterau1,2, G J Melendez-Torres3, Geertjan Overbeek4
1University of Amsterdam, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. h.j.m.nieterau@uva.nl.
Insights
This study analyzed daily child behavior and parental reactions over 14 days. Most families showed fluctuating disruptive behavior and harshness, but rarely gave in to demands.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Disruptive child behavior is a common concern for parents.
- Understanding daily patterns of behavior and parental responses is crucial for effective intervention.
- Previous research often lacks a day-to-day perspective on these interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify distinct daily patterns of disruptive child behavior.
- To examine parental responses, including harshness and giving in.
- To analyze the temporal dynamics of these patterns over 14 days.
Main Methods:
- Collected daily parental reports from 156 families over 14 days.
- Assessed disruptive child behavior, harsh parental responses, and giving in to demands.
- Utilized multilevel latent profile analyses to identify behavioral patterns.
Main Results:
- Identified four distinct behavioral patterns.
- Most families exhibited alternating days of low and high disruptive behavior and harshness.
- Giving in to children's demands was infrequent across all families.
- Disruptive behavior and parental harshness covaried, but giving in did not.
Conclusions:
- Child behavior and parental harshness patterns fluctuate daily in most families.
- The stability of these daily patterns varies significantly between families.
- Intervention strategies may need to consider the day-to-day variability in child behavior and parental responses.
Abstract:
The goal of the present study was to identify patterns of daily disruptive child behavior and parental responses to this behavior, as well as investigate the occurrence of these patterns over 14 days. We examined daily parental reports on disruptive child behavior, harsh parental responses, and giving in to children's demands from 156 families (Mchild age = 5.88; 47% girls) collected over 14 days (2,067 assessments). Using multilevel latent profile analyses, we identified four behavioral patterns. Most families alternated between days with less and days with more disruptive behavior and harshness. Giving in to children's demands was rare in all families. Our findings indicate that in most families with elevated disruptive child behavior, behavioral patterns vary across days, with disruptive behavior and parental harshness, but not giving in to children's demands, co-varying. Our findings also indicate how day-to-day stability varies between families.
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