Abstract
Parent-child conflict in the context of a supportive relationship has been discussed as a potentially constructive interaction pattern; the current study is the first to test this using a holistic analytic approach. Interaction styles, defined as mother-child conflict in the context of maternal sensitivity, were identified and described with demographic and stress-related characteristics of families. Longitudinal associations were tested between interaction styles and children's later social competence. Participants included 814 partnered mothers with a first-grade child. Latent profile analysis identified agreeable, dynamic, and disconnected interaction styles. Mothers' intimacy with a partner, depressive symptoms, and authoritarian childrearing beliefs, along with children's later conflict with a best friend and externalizing problems, were associated with group membership. Notably, the dynamic style, characterized by high sensitivity and high conflict, included families who experienced psychological and relational stressors. Findings are discussed with regard to how family stressors shape parent-child interaction patterns.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 306-324 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Social Development |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Latent profile analysis
- Maternal sensitivity
- Parent-child conflict
- Person-centered
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)