Does child temperament moderate the influence of parenting on adjustment?☆
Section snippets
Adjustment in childhood
Adjustment in childhood refers to the characteristics of the child’s social functioning within constraints of the environment (Rothbart & Bates, 1998). Positive adjustment is reflected in general positive emotion, compliant and self-regulated behavior, and harmonious interpersonal interactions (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998). Negative adjustment outcomes are reflected in the converse: negative emotion, disruptive behavior and conflicted social relationships. What manifests as adjustment in
A conditional model
There has been little theoretical delineation of the synergistic processes of parenting and temperament, though interactions are often assumed to reflect the bi-directional and reciprocal interchanges between the organism and environment over time (Hershberger, 1994; Magnusson & Stattin, 1998; Thomas, 1984; Wachs & Plomin, 1991). Thomas and Chess hypothesized that temperament conveyed its influence in interaction with the demands of the environment, including parenting. Positive adjustment was
Empirical work employing a conditional model
There is a small body of literature exploring the interactive effects of parenting and child temperament as related to adjustment, possibly due to difficulty in obtaining and interpreting significant interaction terms (Sanson & Rothbart, 1995). The literature reviewed spans the developmental periods of childhood, with child adjustment manifested differently at each developmental stage: attachment security in infancy, prosocial and antisocial skills in early childhood, and aggression and
Conclusions: A conditional model of parenting influence
Despite contentions to the contrary (see Harris, 1995), there is evidence that parenting bears considerable import for children’s adjustment (Collins et al., 2000; Vandell, 2000), and emerging research suggests that parental socialization plays a distinct role for children of different temperaments. One of the primary goals of this review was to identify an appropriate theoretical foundation for this emergent line of research. Several considerations provide guidance for ongoing research.
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An earlier version of this paper was presented as part of preliminary examination requirements for completion of studies in the Ph.D. program in Human Development. I am most grateful to Deborah Lowe Vandell, Leonard Abbeduto, and B. Bradford Brown for their generous comments and assistance.