Longitudinal Relations Between Maternal Parenting Styles and Preschoolers’ Externalizing Problem Behaviors: A Chain Mediation Model

• Published in: Child & youth care forum Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 453 - 470
• Main Authors: Liang, Linlin, Zhang, Ni, Liu, Wen, Lin, Linlin, Zhang, Xue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2025; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: adolescents; adults; aggression; Authoritative parenting; Behavior problems; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Child Rearing; Childhood; children; cognition; Delinquency; Emotional Problems; Emotional regulation; Emotions; Executive function; Externalizing problems; Juvenile delinquency; Long term; Longitudinal studies; males; Mediation; Mother Attitudes; Mothers; Original Paper; Parenting style; Parenting styles; Parents; Parents & parenting; Preschool children; Psychology; Self control; Self regulation; Strategies; surveys; violence; youth; Preschooler; Maternal parenting styles; Executive Function; Externalizing problem behaviors; Negative emotion regulation strategies
• ISSN: 1053-1890; 1573-3319
• DOI: 10.1007/s10566-024-09827-3

Background Externalizing problem behaviors, such as childhood aggression, have a significant impact on adolescent delinquency and even adult delinquency and violence. Mother’s attitudes and behaviors can impact the self-control and regulation of preschoolers, which in turn reflect in preschoolers’ externalizing problems. Objective This longitudinal study aimed to examine the long-term effects of maternal parenting styles on preschoolers’ externalizing problem behaviors and explore the potential mechanisms. Methods We conducted a three-wave survey among 269 preschoolers (52.8% were male) aged 3–6 years, assessing maternal parenting styles at T1, executive function and negative emotion regulation strategies at T1 and T2, and externalizing problem behaviors at T3. Results For preschoolers, maternal authoritative parenting (T1) was significantly positively associated with executive function (T2), and negatively associated with negative emotion regulation strategies (T2) and externalizing problem behaviors (T3). Besides, maternal authoritarian parenting was significantly negatively associated with executive function (T2), and positively associated with negative emotion regulation strategies (T2) and externalizing problem behaviors (T3). Maternal parenting could not directly affect externalizing problem behaviors, but it could affect externalizing problem behaviors through the mediation of executive function and negative emotion regulation strategies. The chain mediating effects included three paths: the mediating role of executive function, the mediating role of negative emotion regulation strategies, and the chain mediating role of executive function and negative emotion regulation strategies. Conclusions The findings underscored the importance of preschoolers’ self-regulation in the cognitive and emotional domains when understanding the influence of maternal parenting styles on preschoolers’ externalizing problem behaviors.