Mothers with Internalizing Problems Benefit More from Group versus Individual Behavior Management Treatment for Children's Disruptive Behavior

Background: Comparing the efficacy of psychotherapy services for different family needs is critical for advancing more personalized treatment approaches. We examined maternal internalizing mental health problems as a predictor of treatment response for individualized treatment for mothers and their child, versus Coping Power (CP), a manualized group-based program, for children with disruptive behavior. Methods: Families were recruited from a large hospital setting and randomized to 15 weeks of parent and child individualized treatment or CP. Of the 133 families who began treatment, 103 returned for follow-up of which 93 provided baseline data on maternal internalizing mental health problems (defined as scores of 3 or above on the GAIN-SS internalizing subscale). Outcomes included primary treatment targets across child (conduct problems, emotional symptoms, and prosocial skills) and parenting (inconsistent discipline, positive parenting, and parenting sense of competence) factors. Results: Repeated measure ANOVAS indicate that group-based CP was either similar or better than individualized treatment for families with maternal-internalizing status. For both child conduct problems and parent inconsistent discipline, families with maternal-internalizing status only improved in CP (not individualized treatment). For child emotional symptoms and parenting sense of competence outcomes, families in both CP and individualized treatment exhibited similar improvements over time. Main effects indicated maternal-internalizing status was linked to lower parenting satisfaction and higher child emotional symptoms. No changes over time were observed for child prosocial symptoms or positive parenting. Conclusions: Results highlight the efficacy of group-based CP, compared to individualized treatment, for addressing child behavioral problems and parenting needs in families with maternal internalizing problems.

Association Between Mothers’ Alcohol Use Histories and Deficient Parenting in an Economically Disadvantaged Sample

Objective: Problematic maternal alcohol use confers risk for child maltreatment, though the effect on specific aspects of parenting is unclear. This study examined concurrent and prospective links among maternal alcohol use history, care neglect, supervisory neglect, and harsh or inconsistent discipline. Method: Multimethod multisource data were utilized to assess deficient parenting in 311 economically disadvantaged mothers at high risk of child maltreatment. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relations. Results: Maternal history of alcohol use was associated with more inconsistent discipline and higher levels of subsequent supervisory neglect. Secondary analyses among two-parent families found that paternal substance misuse was associated with maternal care neglect and poor supervision. Conclusions: Among low socioeconomic status families, maternal alcohol use increases the risk of inconsistent discipline and inadequate supervision. Inconsistent discipline may also lead to punitive parenting practices. Given the potential effect of paternal substance use on maternal parenting, findings highlight the importance of screening all caregivers for substance use in child welfare and research contexts to clarify when and how to intervene most effectively.

The Effects of Parenting Styles on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Mexican Preadolescents Study

Parental practices such as inconsistent discipline, psychological control, and imposition have been linked to the development of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in preadolescents. This study aimed to identify the association these practices had on Mexican preadolescent problem behaviors through Structural Equation Modeling. The sample consisted of 306 elementary students from three public schools in Mexico City (age M = 10, SD = 0.92). Students completed subscales from the Parental Practice Scale, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Paternal imposition and maternal psychological control were significant predictors for internalizing problems, while inconsistent discipline was a significant predictor of externalizing problems. The results highlight that although parental practicevalues might differ across cultures, their association to problem behaviors are similar.

Postdivorce Coparenting Relationships and Parent–Youth Relationships: Are Repartnership and Parent–Youth Contact Moderators?

Using data from 392 divorced mothers and fathers, living in the United States, with a child between 10 and 18 years old, we first identified three types of postdivorce coparenting relationships ( cooperative, moderately engaged, and conflictual and disengaged) based on coparenting communication, cooperation, and conflict. We then tested if three aspects of parent–youth relationships differed between those groups. Parental warmth and support, parental knowledge, and inconsistent discipline did not differ based on the type of postdivorce coparenting relationship participants had with their ex-spouses. Finally, we tested if repartnership (i.e., being remarried or cohabiting with a new partner) or parent–youth contact moderated the associations between postdivorce coparenting and parent–youth relationships. There was one significant moderation effect. When parent–youth contact was monthly or less, parental knowledge appears lower in the conflictual and disengaged cluster compared with the other two clusters.

Look at My Thoughts for Parents

Chapter 14 teaches parents how thinking flexibly can help children to reduce strong emotions. In this chapter, parents will focus on identifying and changing the inaccurate and unhelpful thinking patterns individuals typically exhibit when experiencing strong emotions. Parents learn about four thinking traps that get children with strong emotions stuck. Parents are taught about different types of reinforcement and punishment as well as how to identify the problems resulting from inconsistent discipline and praise. Lastly, parents are taught strategies for practicing more consistent discipline and praise in the household.

Alabama Parenting Questionnaire–9: Longitudinal Measurement Invariance Across Parents and Youth During the Transition to High School

The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire nine-item short form (APQ-9) is an often used assessment of parenting in research and applied settings. It uses parent and youth ratings for three scales: Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Discipline, and Poor Supervision. The purpose of this study is to examine the longitudinal invariance of the APQ-9 for both parents and youth, and the multigroup invariance between parents and youth during the transition from middle school to high school. Parent and youth longitudinal configural, metric, and scalar invariance for the APQ-9 were supported when tested separately. However, the multigroup invariance tests indicated that scalar invariance was not achieved between parent and youth ratings. Essentially, parent and youth mean scores for Positive Parenting, Inconsistent Discipline, and Poor Supervision can be independently compared across the transition from middle school to high school. However, comparing parent and youth scores across the APQ-9 scales may not be meaningful.