Background
Parenting is a vital component in a child’s life. With appropriate parenting motivation and quality, it may protect children from harm and guide them to healthy physical and emotional wellbeing [
1]. It has an immediate effect on behaviour such as aggression, emotion, conduct, and hyperactivity [
2‐
6], and strong associations with improved academic functioning and self-control [
7‐
9]. Since parenting practices have an impact on children’s development and wellbeing, exposure to
positive parenting early on (when the child is 6-months-old) [
10] is encouraged for increased positive behaviour among children [
11,
12]. “Positive” or “positive-interaction” parenting [
13,
14], is found to be the beneficial to child development [
15]. Mothers with positive-interaction parenting display warmth and responsiveness that allows their child to be independent [
15,
16]. They are involved with their child’s activities and are engaged in positive reinforcement (e.g., celebrating their child’s accomplishments). They also communicate with their child on matters of conduct behaviour and the differences between good choices and bad choices. Consistently, research has shown that the warmth displayed by the mother positively predicts positive development in the child later in life [
17,
18].
The degree and variability that a caregiver displays in positive-interaction parenting may be explained by differences in maternal characteristic such as education, support, and age. In the United States, teen mothers who completed higher education were more likely to be nurturing to their infants compared to those with lower education [
19]. Further, support has shown to promote positive parenting practices (i.e., display of acceptance, warmth, and responsiveness) of various cultural backgrounds [
20‐
23]. Parenting style may also differ by differences in age, where lower maternal age has shown to predict harsher and less supportive parenting with toddlers [
24‐
26]. More specifically, teen mothers (19-years-old and under) are reckoned as being less positive, less supportive, and less accessible to their children compared to non-teen mothers [
27‐
30], lacking knowledge of their child’s needs, and lacking emotional maturity to raise a child [
29,
31], and are likely to be single parents [
32], and therefore, deemed as being at greater risk for suboptimal parenting [
27,
30]. Conversely, non-teenaged mothers (20-years-old and older) are regarded as being more positive, more supportive, more able to meet the needs of their child, and being “capable” to parent [
27]. Even after accounting for various socio-economic factors, higher maternal age is positively associated with warmth and sensitivity towards their infants [
26].
Most literature to date is focused on the maternal parenting styles, with no comparison to advanced age mothers (35-years-old and older) [e.g., 20, 23]. There is a pressing need to examine this group as the number of advanced age mothers in Canada is increasing every year [
33]. Furthermore, advanced age mothers are different from teen and optimal age mothers (20–34 years-old), as they usually have higher education and higher income status [
34] – both of which are known to influence parenting. Additionally, no research to date has compared the positive-interaction parenting style of teen, optimal age, and advanced age mothers in Canada. This study may help researchers, counselors, and mothers to be acquainted with the significant characteristics associated with positive-interaction parenting, which, in turn may contribute to healthy physical and emotional wellbeing of their children. Therefore, this study aims to examine if the level of positive-interaction parenting style differs among teen, optimal age, and advanced age mothers in Canada, and identifies the characteristics associated with this parenting style separately for each age group.
Results
The total number of women analyzed in this study was 950,905 primiparous Canadian mothers (weighted using population weights) whose child was 0–23 months of age at the time of interview. The sample included 53,409 teen mothers, 790,960 optimal age mothers, and 106,536 advanced age mothers. Table
1 shows the estimated proportions of characteristics among all primiparous mothers with children 0–23 months old. Teen, optimal age, and advanced age mothers reported similar levels of positive-interaction parenting style as shown in Table
1 (
p = .270). Proportions in marital status across age groups significantly differed (
p < .001); only 52.2% of teen mothers reported being married or with a partner compared to optimal age and advanced age mothers whereby majority (> 90%) reported having a partner. Only 9.7% of teen mothers were ever immigrants whereas, 17.6% of optimal age, and 30.0% of advanced age mothers were immigrants (
p < .001). A greater proportion of teen mothers reported obtaining a high school education or less (69.8%) whereas a greater proportion (> 60%) of optimal and advanced age mothers reported obtaining postsecondary or partial university, with a larger proportion of advanced age mothers obtaining a bachelor degree or higher compared to optimal age mothers (
p < .001). Teen mothers scored higher on the depression scale (5.62) than optimal (3.72) and advanced age mothers (3.89) (
p < .001). Teen mothers reported the highest family dysfunction and lowest social support compared to optimal age and advanced age mothers (
p < .001 and
p = .005 respectively).
Table 1
Characteristics of primiparous teenage, optimal age, and advanced age mothers living with children 0–23 month-old
Positive-Interaction Parenting |
Meana (SE)b | 18.14 (.12) | 18.27 (.04) | 18.40 (.11) | .270 |
Maternal Socio-Demographic Characteristics
|
Mother’s Age at Childbirth |
Meana (SE)b | 18.19 (.07) | 27.16 (.08) | 37.27 (.11) |
< .001
|
Immigration to Canada |
No Yes | 90.3 9.7 | 82.4 17.6 | 70.0 30.0 |
< .001
|
Married/With Partner |
No Yes | 47.8 52.2 | 9.7 90.3 | 7.7 92.3 |
< .001
|
Place of Residence |
Rural Urban | 12.2 87.8 | 9.8 90.2 | 5.9 94.1 |
0.009
|
Level of Education |
High school or less Postsec/Part University Bachelor or higher | 69.8 30.2 N/A | 16.4 65.1 18.5 | 7.5 64.2 28.3 |
< .001
|
Household Income ($1000’s) |
Meana (SE)b | 32.46 (1.57) | 70.59 (1.28) | 89.86 (3.62) |
< .001
|
Work Status |
No work in past year Worked part-time last year Worked full-time last year | 47.7 28.8 23.5 | 31.7 17.7 50.6 | 27.4 16.3 56.3 |
< .001
|
Maternal Health and Social Characteristics
|
Perceived Health Status |
Good/Fair/Poor Health Very good/Excellent Health | 35.8 64.2 | 22.1 77.9 | 24.7 75.3 |
< .001
|
Depression |
Meana (SE)b | 5.62 (.32) | 3.72 (.08) | 3.89 (.28) |
< .001
|
Family Functioning |
Meana (SE)b | 10.32 (.31) | 8.15 (.10) | 8.79 (.33) |
< .001
|
Social Support |
Meana (SE)b | 17.88 (.21) | 19.11 (.08) | 18.92 (.22) |
.005
|
Devotion to Religion |
Never attended Partially/regularly attended | 50.4 49.6 | 43.5 56.5 | 46.6 53.4 | .125 |
Child Characteristics
|
Age of Child (Months) |
Meana (SE)b | 13.56 (.37) | 13.04 (.10) | 13.53 (.27) | .254 |
Sex of Child |
Male Female | 52.0 48.0 | 52.9 47.1 | 51.4 48.6 | .858 |
Use of Childcare |
No Yes | 68.2 31.8 | 73.3 26.7 | 72.2 27.8 | .285 |
Health Status of Child |
Good/Fair/Poor Health Improved Health | 11.8 88.2 | 6.4 93.6 | 5.2 94.8 |
.009
|
Temperament |
Meana (SE)b | 2.72 (.51) | 2.57 (.14) | 2.66 (.35) | .112 |
Survey Data
|
Data Collection Year |
Cycle 4 (2000–2001) Cycle 5 (2002–2003) Cycle 6 (2004–2005) Cycle 7 (2006–2007) Cycle 8 (2008–2009) | 19.4 21.0 22.5 18.7 18.4 | 16.0 17.0 19.6 24.5 22.9 | 14.8 20.4 18.3 20.4 26.1 | .102 |
Table
2 shows the results from simple linear regression and stepwise multivariable linear regression, with the unadjusted and adjusted beta coefficients of positive-interaction parenting and related characteristics for each group. At the bivariate level, no significant difference was found for positive interaction parenting across the three age groups, however, in an overall adjusted model and when several interaction terms were added, maternal age along with a maternal age interaction term were found to be significant, providing justification to stratify the analysis by maternal age. Among optimal age mothers, positive-interaction parenting was decreased with ever-landed immigrant status Adj β = −.42, 95%CI -.71, −.14), and significantly increased with increasing education, after adjusting for other variables. Furthermore, depression (Adj β = −.03, 95%CI -.05, −.01), family functioning (Adj β = −.05, 95%CI -.06, −.03), and devotion to religion (Adj β = −.19, 95%CI -.33, −.04) were negatively associated with positive-interaction parenting in optimal age mothers after adjustment. Among optimal age mothers, age of the child and use of childcare were negatively significant with positive-interaction parenting. Among teen mothers, positive-interaction parenting significantly increased with very good/excellent health and significantly decreased with poor family functioning (Adj β = −.05, 95%CI -.10, −.01) after adjustment of variables. Among advanced age mothers, parenting significantly decreased with age of the child, very good/excellent health, and depression, and significantly increased with social support (Adj β = .08, 95%CI .03, .13), after adjusting for other variables.
Table 2
Estimated unadjusted and adjusted beta coefficients of positive-interaction parenting and related characteristics among primiparous mothers with children 0–23 month-old
Maternal Socio-Demographic Characteristics
|
Mother’s Age at Childbirth | .11 (−.10, .32) | | .02 (−.001, .04) | | −.01 (−.12, .10) | |
Ever Immigrants of Canada1 | .15 (−.92, 1.21) | |
−.53 (−.83, −.23)
|
−.42 (−.71, −.14)
| −.30 (−.87, .28) | |
Married/With Partner2 | .24 (−0.24, .71) | | .33 (−.02, .68) | | −.17 (−.69, .35) | |
Resides in Urban Population3 | −.06 (−.70, .57) | | −.09 (−.26, .08) | | −.29 (−.83, .25) | |
Postsecondary/Part University4 Bachelor Degree or higher4 | .13 (−.40, .65) N/A | |
.35 (.10, .61)
.48 (.19, .77)
|
.27 (.02, .53)
.39 (.08, .71)
| −.10 (−.75, .55) −.14 (−.83, .56) | |
Household Income | .01 (−.003, .02) | |
.002 (.001, .004)
| | .001 (−.002, .004) | |
Working Part-time5 Working Full-time5 | .19 (−.36, .75) −.22 (−.88, .45) | .19 (−.38, .77) −.31 (−.96, .34) | .19 (−.02, .40) −.02 (−.22, .18) | .15 (−.05, .36) −.09 (−.29, .10) | −.39 (−1.07, .29) −.24 (−.79, .31) | |
Maternal Health and Social Characteristics
|
Very good/Excellent Health6 |
.86 (.38, 1.34)
|
.77 (.22, 1.31)
| .15 (−.02, .32) | |
−.41 (−.78, −.03)
|
−.62 (−1.04, −.20)
|
Depression | −.04 (−.09, .01) | |
−.05 (−.07, −.03)
|
−.03 (−.05, −.01)
|
−.07 (−.13, −.01)
|
−.07 (−.13, −.01)
|
Family Functioning |
−.06 (−.10, −.01)
|
−.05 (−.10, −.01)
|
−.06 (−.07, −.04)
|
−.05 (−.06, −.03)
|
−.05 (−.10, −.01)
| |
Social Support | .03 (−.05, .11) | |
.06 (.04, .08)
| |
.08 (.03, .14)
|
.08 (.03, .13)
|
Devoted to Religion8 | .27 (−.21, .75) | |
−.20 (−.35, −.04)
|
−.19 (−.33, −.04)
| −.28 (−.69, .13) | |
Child Characteristics
|
Age of Child (months) | −.05 (−.10, .01) | |
−.04 (−.05, −.02)
|
−.03 (−.05, −.01)
|
−.06 (−.09, −.02)
|
−.05 (−.09, −.01)
|
Female Child9 |
−.46 (−.92, −.01)
| | −.02 (−.18, .14) | | −.34 (−.76, .09) | |
Used Child Care7 | −.04 (−.56, .48) | |
−.26 (−.42, −.09)
|
−.29 (−.48, −.10)
| −.30 (−.71, .11) | |
Improved Health6 | .34 (−.66, 1.33) | |
.44 (.08, .79)
| | .59 (−.54, 1.72) | |
Overall Temperament | .01 (−.14, .17) | | .01 (−.0003, .01) | | −.002 (−.09, .08) | −.003 (−.08, .07) |
Survey Data
|
Cycle 5 (2002–2003)10 Cycle 6 (2004–2005)10 Cycle 7 (2006–2007)10 Cycle 8 (2008–2009)10 | .24 (−.31, .80) −.29 (−.94, .36) −.30 (−1.07, .46) .29 (−0.18, .76) | | .28 (.11, .46) −.09 (−.28, .10) −.13 (−.35, .10) .12 (−.05, .30) |
.35 (.12, .59)
.05 (−.20, .30) −.12 (−.43, .19) .05 (−.20, .31) | .23 (−.27, .73) .15 (−.30, .60) −.18 (−.87, .51) −.27 (−.71, .17) | |
To estimate effect sizes, coefficients were re-scaled to standardized regression coefficients to provide some indication of the magnitude of these effects. In teenage mothers, small effect sizes were observed for very good/excellent health (0.20), and family functioning (0.13). In optimal age mothers, among variables that were found to be significantly associated with positive-interaction parenting style, all indicated a standardized regression coefficient of less than 20. In advanced age mothers, all variables that were found to be significant indicated a standardized regression coefficient of less than 20.
Discussion
This study identified and compared the characteristics of positive-interaction parenting style among teen, optimal age, and advanced age mothers using a Canadian-wide dataset. There was no significant difference in the frequency of positive-interaction parenting style across the three age groups however, at the multivariable model, maternal age was found to be significant when several interaction terms were added in the model. Although a lack of statistical significance does not guarantee no effect, the significant predictors retained in each of the models for age of the mother showed that associated characteristics differed. Among optimal age mothers, positive-interaction parenting significantly increased with higher education, and decreased with ever-immigrants, depression, family dysfunction, devotion to religion, age of the child, and childcare use. Among teens, positive-interaction parenting significantly increased with very good/excellent health, and decreased with family functioning. Among advanced age mothers, positive-interaction parenting significantly increased with social support, and decreased with depression, very good/excellent health, and older children. These findings will be relevant to professionals working in the area of counseling, family medicine, nursing, and public health, allowing them to identify the unique and overlapping characteristics that significantly predict positive-interaction parenting style in the three age groups of mothers.
Teen, optimal age, and advanced age mothers reported similar levels of positive-interaction parenting. This finding is inconsistent with previous studies whereby teen mothers were found to be harsher and display less positive parenting styles than older mothers who were generally more positive and warm toward their child [
24,
26,
27,
30]. This was based on the premise that teen mothers lack emotional maturity and knowledge about the child [
29,
31], thereby not being able to positively interact with their children. A probable reason for the inconsistency with other studies is the difference in target population. This study assessed parenting when the child was 0–23 months old, whereas others examined parenting styles when the child was older. All three groups may have similarly displayed high levels of positive-interaction parenting, as children under 2 years of age have not yet reached the “age of understanding” [
37], at which point, more of a disciplinary action may be imposed. Therefore, further investigation on parenting styles among the three age groups with older children in Canada is warranted.
No characteristic was found to be commonly significant across all three age groups. The characteristics uniquely associated with optimal age mothers were ever-landed immigrants, education, childcare use, and devotion to religion. Optimal age mothers who were ever-landed immigrants reported less positive-interaction parenting compared to non-immigrants. Similarly, another study found that immigrant mothers showed a harsher and punitive type of parenting compared to non-immigrants in the United Kingdom and Turkey [
38]. It is understood that immigrants try to retain their traditional family values that may allow for more restrictive behaviour towards their children to protect them from “perceived” risk in an unfamiliar country [
39]. In contrast, a study in the United States found that immigrant mothers reported warmer and intimate parenting styles compared to non-immigrants [
20,
40,
41]. The inconsistencies found in these studies may be due to the cultural differences (i.e., Turkey versus United States), and different parenting scales used for assessment. Similarly, in other studies, positive-interaction parenting significantly increased with increasing education in optimal age mothers [
20,
42,
43]. Mothers with higher education (graduate or professional degrees) were more likely to display positive-interaction parenting, as they were likely to have a better understanding of the importance of positive-interaction parenting on the social and cognitive development of children [
20,
42,
43]. On the other hand, positive-interaction parenting was associated with a decrease in childcare use. However, due to reverse causality and the lack of information on duration and quality of childcare use, further investigation is warranted to explore this relationship. Although some studies show that devotion to religion is associated with physical affection and praising of their children [
44,
45], our results show that being devoted to religion decreased positive-interaction parenting. In certain contexts, those who display stricter parenting hold stronger religious views about disciplinary actions such as setting limits and using corporal punishment for unacceptable behaviour [
44,
45].
Teen mothers were not found to have any characteristics uniquely associated with positive-interaction parenting. However, social support was uniquely associated with parenting among advanced age mothers. In general, social support promotes positive-interaction parenting by enhancing parents’ psychological functioning [
46,
47]. Mothers with greater social support are more likely to display positive interactions with their children [
47], and are likely to report better parent-child involvement and communication [
46]. Similar results were produced in the United Kingdom where younger mothers exhibited lower rates of positive-interaction parenting compared to older mothers [
48].
Positive-interaction parenting style significantly decreased with family dysfunction in teen and optimal age mothers. Similarly, poor parenting was found to be associated with family dysfunction where it places children at risk for illnesses, substance misuse, and juvenile crime [
1]. Very good/excellent health was found to be positively associated with parenting in teens but negatively associated with parenting in advanced age mothers. Although the relationship of health and positive-interaction parenting in teens is well supported by another study [
49], the reason why this relationship is different for advanced age mothers warrants further investigation.
Optimal age and advanced age mothers were found to have positive-interaction parenting styles significantly decrease with depression. Previous studies have also shown a link between maternal depression and lower positive-interaction parenting [
42,
46,
50]. Depressed mothers are likely to be less engaged and show negative affect towards their children compared to non-depressed individuals [
46,
51]. Although it has been shown that mothers with older toddlers display more positive maternal behaviour [
52], our study showed that positive-interaction parenting decreased with older children. However, as children in our study have not yet reached the “age of understanding” [
37], further investigation among children older than 23 months is warranted.
Strengths and limitations
The results should be cautiously interpreted, as limitations are present. There is potential for reverse causality between the dependent and independent variables due to the cross-sectional nature of the study. Furthermore, information bias may be present as all variables were self-reported however, variables such as the positive-interaction parenting, social support, family functioning, and depression are validated measures that have been effectively used in other studies. Although our study explored numerous variables, other parenting-influenced characteristics such as the mother’s mental health, social skills, and attendance of parenting classes were not captured in the NLSCY, and thus not part of our analyses. The data used in this study was collected from 2000 to 2008; therefore, it may not represent the current population. However, the survey weights applied to the data set allowed the sample to be generalizable at the population level that includes a standardized parenting scale and covers a comprehensive range of topics including health, behaviour, and social environment of the mother and her child.