Temperament, Parenting, and Moral Development: Specificity of Behavior and Context

• Published in: Social development (Oxford, England) Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 285 - 303
• Main Authors: Augustine, Mairin E., Stifter, Cynthia A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2015
• Subjects: Behavior; Child Development; Childrearing Practices; Children; Children & youth; Ethics; Family Roles; Moral Development; Mothers; parent-child relationships; temperament; moral development; Temperament; parent-child relationships
• ISSN: 0961-205X; 1467-9507
• DOI: 10.1111/sode.12092

This longitudinal study highlights the role of specific parenting behaviors in specific contexts when predicting moral development in children of varying temperament types. A sample of mother–child dyads took part in a competing demands task involving differing ‘do’ and ‘don't’ contextual demands when the child was 2 years of age. Child temperament was also assessed at this time, yielding inhibited, exuberant, and low‐reactive temperament groups. Children's moral behavior was assessed at 5.5 years of age. Models examining the interaction of temperament and mother behaviors in each context indicated that mother's reasoning/explanation and ignoring in the ‘do’ context predicted later moral behavior in inhibited children whereas redirection and commands in the ‘don't’ context predicted moral behavior in exuberant children.