Parenting stress and child behavior problems: a transactional relationship across time

Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2012 Jan;117(1):48-66. doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-117.1.48.

Abstract

Parenting stress and child behavior problems have been posited to have a transactional effect on each other across development. However, few studies have tested this model empirically. The authors investigated the relationship between parenting stress and child behavior problems from ages 3 to 9 years old among 237 children, 144 of whom were typically developing and 93 who were identified as developmentally delayed. Behavior problems and parenting stress covaried significantly across time for both groups of children. Cross-lagged panel analyses generally supported a bidirectional relationship between parenting stress and child behavior problems for mothers and fathers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child Behavior Disorders / epidemiology
  • Child Behavior Disorders / psychology*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Fathers / psychology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Intellectual Disability / epidemiology
  • Intellectual Disability / psychology*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Models, Psychological
  • Mothers / psychology
  • Parent-Child Relations*
  • Parents / psychology*
  • Risk Factors
  • Sex Distribution
  • Stress, Psychological / epidemiology
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires