Diathesis stress or differential susceptibility? testing longitudinal associations between parenting, temperament, and children's problem behavior

The double jeopardy of low family income and negative emotionality: The family stress model revisited

The family stress model has, for decades, guided empirical work linking poverty with increased risk of child social-emotional dysfunction. The present study extends this line of work by examining whether child negative emotionality moderates associations between family income, family stress (maternal distress, parental locus of control, and relationship dissatisfaction), and later externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. In a longitudinal population-based sample (n ~ 80,000) of Norwegian children followed from birth through age five (The Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study; MoBa), we examined whether high (vs. moderate or low) negative emotionality families would display: (a) compounding stress (i.e., particularly strong associations between low family income and family stress), (b) diathesis-stress (i.e., particularly strong associations between family stress and behavior problems), or (c) double jeopardy (i.e., both compounding stress and diathesis-stress moderating effects). Negative emotionality significantly moderated the association between family income and behavior problems in a manner most consistent with double jeopardy. As a result, compared with children with moderate/low negative emotionality, the family income-behavior problems association was two to three times larger for those with higher negative emotionality. These findings underscore the active role children may play in family processes that link low family income with behavior problems.

Domain specificity of differential susceptibility: Testing an evolutionary theory of temperament in early childhood

According to differential susceptibility theory (DST), some children may be more sensitive to both positive and negative features of the environment. However, research has generated a list of widely disparate temperamental traits that may reflect differential susceptibility to the environment. In addition, findings have implicated these temperament × environment interactions in predicting a wide variety of child outcomes. This study uses a novel evolutionary model of temperament to examine whether differential susceptibility operates in a domain-general or domain-specific manner. Using a racially and socioeconomically diverse sample of 243 preschoolers and their parents (56% female; 48% African American), we examined the interactions between maternal and paternal parenting quality and two evolutionary informed temperament profiles (i.e., Hawks and Doves) in predicting changes in teacher-reported conduct problems and depressive symptoms from preschool to first grade. Results suggest that differential susceptibility operates in a domain-specific fashion. Specifically, the "Hawk" temperament was differentially susceptible to maternal parenting in predicting externalizing problems. In contrast, the "Dove" temperament was susceptible to both paternal and maternal parenting quality in predicting changes in depressive symptoms. Findings provide support for an integrative framework that synthesizes DST with an evolutionary, function-based approach to temperament.

Understanding How Child Temperament, Negative Parenting, and Dyadic Parent-Child Behavioral Variability Interact to Influence Externalizing Problems

To better understand the development of externalizing behavior, the current study examines how multiple levels of influence (child temperament, negative parenting, and dyadic interactions) work together to increase externalizing behaviors over time. Negative parenting (NP) and observed dynamic dyadic behavioral variability (DBV) in parent-child interactions (e.g., in discipline and compliance) are characteristic of coercive family processes. The present study first examined latent profiles of temperament in 3-year-olds (N = 150). Four temperament profiles emerged: high reactive, exuberant, low reactive, and inhibited. Temperament profiles were then examined as moderators of the effects of age 3 NP and DBV on child externalizing problems at age 4. Exuberant temperament exacerbated the association between higher levels of NP and DBV and higher levels of child externalizing. Additionally, temperament moderated the combined effects of NP and DBV such that at low and mean levels of NP, children with exuberant temperaments who experienced higher DBV had higher externalizing behaviors, whereas at higher levels of NP, the influence of DBV was no longer significant. Results suggest pathways by which children's experiences of NP and DBV with parents contribute to their greater externalizing problems over time, in the context of the child's unique temperament profile.

Individual differences in sensitivity to positive home environment among children "at risk" for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A review

Although the evidence for the genetic basis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is strong, environmental factors, such as the quality of parenting or the home environment, may moderate such genetic liability. The plausible negative effect of a low-quality home environment and negative parenting on child outcomes is well-established; however, the positive effect of a high-quality environment and positive parenting remained largely uninvestigated. Due to the presence of genetic, temperamental, or physiological factors, children who were traditionally considered at-risk for ADHD may be more sensitive to aspects of their environment compared to children who are not at such risk. Therefore, they would be more affected by their environmental experience, either for good or bad. Under supportive environmental conditions, such at-risk individuals might actually outperform their non-vulnerable peers, suggesting that these individual factors might be considered susceptibility factors rather than risk factors. Little is known regarding the positive effect of the environment in the ADHD literature, but it has been demonstrated in cognitive functions that are closely associated with ADHD, such as executive functions (EF). We review this literature and examine the extant empirical support for sensitivity to aspects of the home environment and parenting in the case of ADHD and EF. Moreover, we review factors that could help identify the specific aspects of the home environment and parenting that these children might be more susceptible to. Such knowledge could be valuable when designing preventive interventions and identifying those children that are especially sensitive and could benefit from such interventions. Recommendations for future studies are discussed as well.

Maternal Functioning and Child's Externalizing Problems: Temperament and Sex-Based Driven Effects

This study examines how maternal adverse parenting (hostility, neglect, low warmth) and psychological distress explain the associations between child temperament factors and externalizing problems. It also examines if these associations differ according to the child's biological sex. The sample consists of 339 school-age children receiving in-school services for conduct problems. Data were collected through questionnaires completed by mothers at 3 time points, at one-year intervals. Results from path analyses revealed that maternal psychological distress partly explained the associations between each child temperamental factors (negative affectivity, surgency/extraversion, effortful control) and levels of externalizing problems. Specifically, the indirect effect of psychological distress between child negative affectivity and externalizing problems was only significant for boys, not girls. Maternal hostility, on the other hand, mediated the association between child surgency/extraversion and externalizing problems in both boys and girls. Interestingly, neglectful parenting and maternal warmth did not explain the association between child temperamental factors and externalizing problems. The findings suggest small but significant temperament child-driven effects on maternal psychological distress and hostility, in turn, translating into higher levels of externalizing problems. These findings support the relevance of temperament-based interventions for children with conduct problems and of increased mental health support for their mothers. By aiding mothers in developing a larger repertoire of parenting strategies, mothers may be better equipped to respond appropriately to their child's various temperamental characteristics, hence, reducing their psychological distress and hostile behaviors and limiting the development of child externalizing problems.

The Moderating Role of Surgency, Behavioral Inhibition, Negative Emotionality and Effortful Control in the Relationship between Parenting Style and Children’s Reactive and Proactive Aggression

The principal aim of this study is to explore the moderating role of temperament in the relationship between parenting style and the reactive and proactive aggressive behavior of 8-year-old children. The participants are 279 children (154 boys and 125 girls). To measure reactive and proactive aggression, children completed the reactive and proactive questionnaire (RPQ). Child temperament and parenting styles were evaluated by both parents using the temperament in middle childhood questionnaire (TMCQ) and the parenting styles and dimensions questionnaire (PSDQ). The results revealed that boys with high surgency levels and authoritarian fathers displayed more reactive aggression, whereas behaviorally inhibited boys with mothers who scored low for authoritarian parenting displayed less reactive aggression. Finally, girls with high levels of effortful control and mothers who scored low for authoritative parenting displayed more proactive aggression. The results highlight the value of studying the moderating role of temperament in the relationship between children’s aggressive behavior and both mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles, and underscores the importance of doing so separately for boys and girls.

Interactions Between Child Personality and Parenting in Relation to Child Well-Being: Support for Diathesis-Stress and Differential Susceptibility Patterns

It is well-recognized that the individual characteristics of children moderate the effects of developmental conditions on the well-being of a child. The majority of interactions follow a diathesis-stress pattern; there is also evidence for differential susceptibility and vantage sensitivity models. The present study aimed to examine interactions between parenting and child personality in relation to the well-being of a Russian child and to evaluate the models for moderated relationships. Participants were primary caregivers of 370 children aged 2-7 years. Moderation effects were examined using hierarchical multiple regression and bivariate linear models. In order to differentiate between the models of environmental sensitivity, the analysis of regions of significance was used. Consistent with a diathesis-stress framework, the results revealed that among children low in conscientiousness and high in activity, punitive parenting was a risk factor for externalizing problems; among introverted and fearful children, punitive parenting was a risk factor for internalizing problems. Positive parenting/involvement was a protective factor for internalizing behavior, only for children low in openness. The findings also demonstrate the following evidence for the differential susceptibility model: children low in Beta higher-order personality trait (also known as plasticity or personal growth) showed more total problems when faced with low positive parenting, but fewer problems when experiencing high-quality parenting.

Temperament moderates the effects of early deprivation on infant attention

Institutional care has been shown to increase the risk of attention problems in children, but some children are more sensitive to their environment, both for better and for worse. With this in mind, the current study examined the moderating role of temperament (falling reactivity) between early adversity and attention skills. Six- to 15-month-old infants residing in institutions (n = 63) and infants reared by their biological families from low socioeconomic environments (n = 59) were recruited. The infants' attention skills were measured by calculating the length of time they spent looking at toys. The infants' temperaments were measured by a subscale of the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (falling reactivity/rate of recovery from distress). The findings were in line with the differential susceptibility theory. Compared to infants with high levels of falling reactivity, infants with lower levels of falling reactivity had better attention skills if they were in a family group, but they had lower attention skills if they were residing in institutions. The attention skills of the infants who had higher scores for falling reactivity did not appear to be affected by the adverse environment.

The Etiology of Oppositional Defiant Disorder for Children with and without Intellectual Disabilities: A Preliminary Analysis

BACKGROUND

Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) appears more prevalent among children with intellectual disabilities (ID) as compared to children with typical development (Christensen et al., 2013). However, it remains unclear what drives this difference.

METHODS

Data from 70 youth with typical development (TD) and 20 youth with ID were drawn from The Collaborative Family Study. The relationships between child temperament and parent psychopathology (age 3), parenting behavior and child behavior problems (age 5), and ODD diagnosis (age 13) were explored via structural equation modeling. The predicted model was examined in the total sample, among children with and without ID separately, and with status (TD vs. ID) as a predictor.

CONCLUSION

Many of the predicted relationships hold true for youth with and without ID. However, we found an unexpected relationship between negative-controlling parenting and child externalizing behavior problems for children with ID. The positive role of parental intrusiveness for children with ID is discussed, although limitations are noted due to the small sample size and preliminary nature of this study.

Adolescent Mental Health Following Exposure to Positive and Harsh Parenting in Childhood

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of the present study was to assess longitudinal associations between positive and harsh parenting in childhood and adolescent mental and behavioral difficulties.

METHODS

Data were drawn from Canada's population-based National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (data collected from 1994 to 2009, analyzed 2018). The sample included 9,882 adolescents aged 12/13 years old. Parents self-reported positive and harsh parenting when children were 6/7, 8/9, and 10/11 years old. Symptoms of depression/anxiety, hyperactivity, physical aggression, social aggression, and suicidal ideation were self-reported by adolescents at age 12/13. Linear regression was used to examine the associations between parenting behaviors at each age and adolescent psychiatric symptoms, adjusted for children's baseline symptoms.

RESULTS

Harsh parenting at 10/11 was associated with elevated symptoms of early-adolescent physical aggression, social aggression, and suicidal ideation for boys only, and for all children at earlier ages. Beginning at age 8/9, harsh discipline was associated with elevated symptoms of depression/anxiety for boys only. Overall, positive parenting at age 6/7 was protective against depression/anxiety, physical aggression, and social aggression. Significant sex differences emerged beginning at age 8/9, with positive parenting associated with higher symptoms of depression/anxiety for boys only. Positive parenting at age 10/11 was associated with increased depression/anxiety, physical aggression, social aggression, and suicidal ideation among boys, but decreased symptoms of physical aggression, social aggression, and suicidal ideation among girls.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that the impact of positive and harsh parenting may depend on age and sex, with harsh parenting being more detrimental to boys as they approach adolescence.

Moderation of parenting by inhibitory control in the prediction of the common and unique variance of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention

This study examined whether the interaction between parenting and inhibitory control predicts hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention in 195 children. Observation data of positive parenting were collected at 4 years, and mother reports of coercive parenting at 5 years, inhibitory control at 6 years, and hyperactivity-impulsivity/inattention at 7 years were obtained. The common and unique variance of hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms were examined as outcomes using a bifactor model. Results indicated that positive parenting practices predicted lower levels of hyperactivity-impulsivity/inattention behaviors at age 7 only when children's inhibitory control was high. These results support the vantage sensitivity model, which posits that some individuals show an increased sensitivity to positive experiences exclusively, and support the appropriateness of a targeted prevention approach in early childhood.