Bidirectional Relations between Parenting Practices and Child Externalizing Behavior: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis in the Context of a Psychosocial Treatment and 3-Year Follow-up

AbstractIn a large-scale (N = 317) prospective 8-year longitudinal multiage, multidomain, multivariate, multisource study, we tested a conservative three-term model linking parenting cognitions in toddlerhood to parenting practices in preschool to classroom externalizing behavior in middle childhood, controlling for earlier parenting practices and child externalizing behavior. Mothers who were more knowledgeable, satisfied, and attributed successes in their parenting to themselves when their toddlers were 20 months of age engaged in increased supportive parenting during joint activity tasks 2 years later when their children were 4 years of age, and 6 years after that their 10-year-olds were rated by teachers as having fewer classroom externalizing behavior problems. This developmental cascade of a “standard model” of parenting applied equally to families with girls and boys, and the cascade from parenting attributions to supportive parenting to child externalizing behavior obtained independent of 12 child, parent, and family covariates. Conceptualizing socialization in terms of cascades helps to identify points of effective intervention.

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A Mediation Model of Interparental Collaboration, Parenting Practices, and Child Externalizing Behavior in a Clinical Sample

Family Relations ◽

10.1111/j.1741-3729.2009.00552.x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 275-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

John Kjøbli ◽

Kristine Amlund Hagen

Keyword(s):

Externalizing Behavior ◽

Parenting Practices ◽

Clinical Sample ◽

Mediation Model ◽

Child Externalizing Behavior ◽

Child Externalizing

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Contact with biological parents following placement in foster care: Associations with preschool child externalizing behavior

Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/13591045211049295 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 135910452110492

Author(s):

Karine Poitras ◽

George M. Tarabulsy ◽

Natalia Varela Pulido

Keyword(s):

Foster Care ◽

Behavior Problems ◽

Externalizing Behavior ◽

Foster Parents ◽

Foster Parent ◽

Externalizing Behavior Problems ◽

Foster Child ◽

Child Externalizing Behavior ◽

Biological Parents ◽

Child Externalizing

Externalizing behavior problems are a salient issue in the context of child protection services, where associations with placement stability and caregiving behavior have been documented. Moreover, although research on the association between contact with biological parents and foster child externalizing behavior problems is scarce and has yielded mixed results, several studies have shown links between the two variables. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of face-to-face contact with biological parents and externalized behaviors, while taking into account placement instability and foster parent interactive sensitivity. Fifty preschoolers and their foster parents were visited at home. Child externalizing behavior problems were self-reported by foster parents, foster parent sensitivity was measured via play observations, and information relative to placement was collected through interviews with biological parents and gathered from social services data. Results reveal that more frequent contact with biological parents and lower levels of foster parent sensitivity are independently linked to greater levels of externalizing behavior problems even after controlling for placement instability. Discussion focuses on the importance of children’s relationship experiences during foster care and the necessity to investigate their role to more clearly understand foster child socioemotional development.

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