Maternal Sensitivity Moderates the Relation between Negative Discipline and Aggression in Early Childhood

Three models regarding the relation between maternal (in)sensitivity, negative discipline, and child aggression were examined in a sample of 117 mother–child pairs with high scores on child externalizing behavior: (1) Sensitivity and discipline are uniquely related to child aggression (the additive...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social development (Oxford, England) England), 2009-02, Vol.18 (1), p.99-120
Main Authors: Alink, Lenneke R. A., Mesman, Judi, Van Zeijl, Jantien, Stolk, Mirjam N., Juffer, Femmie, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J., Van IJzendoorn, Marinus H., Koot, Hans M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affective Behavior
Aggression
Aggressiveness
Child Behavior
Child Development
Child discipline
Developmental psychology
Discipline
early childhood
maternal sensitivity
Mother-Child interactions
Mother-Child relationships
Mothers
negative discipline
Parent Child Relationship
Parent Influence
Parenting Skills
Parenting Styles
Parents & parenting
Preschool children
Social Development
Young Children
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Summary:Three models regarding the relation between maternal (in)sensitivity, negative discipline, and child aggression were examined in a sample of 117 mother–child pairs with high scores on child externalizing behavior: (1) Sensitivity and discipline are uniquely related to child aggression (the additive model); (2) the relation between discipline and aggression is moderated by maternal sensitivity (the moderating model); (3) the relation between sensitivity and aggression is mediated by maternal discipline (the mediating model). Parenting and child aggression were observed when the children were on average 26.71 months old (range of 13.58 to 41.91 months) and again one year later. Results supported the moderating model. More negative discipline was related to more child aggression one year later, but only when mothers were insensitive. This finding supports the idea that the affective context is important for the impact of negative discipline on child development.
ISSN:0961-205X
1467-9507
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00478.x