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Reciprocal Relationships Between Parenting Behavior and Disruptive Psychopathology from Childhood Through Adolescence

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Abstract

Theoretical models suggest that child behaviors influence parenting behaviors, and specifically that unpleasant child behaviors coerce parents to discontinue engaging in appropriate discipline. This study examined reciprocal relationships between parenting behaviors (supervision, communication, involvement, timid discipline and harsh punishment) and child disruptive disorder symptoms (ADHD, ODD and CD) in a clinic-referred sample of 177 boys. Annual measures, including structured clinical interviews, were obtained from the beginning of the study (when boys were between the ages of 7 to 12) to age 17. Specific reciprocal influence was observed; only timid discipline predicted worsening behavior, namely ODD symptoms, and ODD symptoms predicted increases in timid discipline. Greater influence from child behaviors to parenting practices was found: ODD also predicted poorer communication and decreased involvement, and CD predicted poorer supervision. ADHD was neither predictive of, nor predicted by, parenting behaviors. The results are specifically supportive of a coercive process between child behaviors and parenting behaviors, and generally suggestive of greater influence of child behaviors on parenting behaviors than of parenting behaviors on child behaviors

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by a grant (MH 42529) from the National Institute of Mental Health to Dr. Loeber.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O’Hara St., Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Jeffrey D. Burke, Dustin A. Pardini & Rolf Loeber

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  1. Jeffrey D. Burke
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  2. Dustin A. Pardini
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  3. Rolf Loeber
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Correspondence to Jeffrey D. Burke.

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Burke, J.D., Pardini, D.A. & Loeber, R. Reciprocal Relationships Between Parenting Behavior and Disruptive Psychopathology from Childhood Through Adolescence. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36, 679–692 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9219-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9219-7

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