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Parent Discrepancies in Ratings of Child Behaviors Following Wartime Deployment

Researchers have shown that parents often disagree in their ratings of their children's behavior, and that these discrepancies are typically related to child and family characteristics (e.g., child's age, parent psychopathology). Few studies, however, have examined discrepancies in how mot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of traumatic stress 2018-02, Vol.31 (1), p.79-88
Main Authors: Chesmore, Ashley A., He, Yaliu, Zhang, Na, Gewirtz, Abigail H.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Researchers have shown that parents often disagree in their ratings of their children's behavior, and that these discrepancies are typically related to child and family characteristics (e.g., child's age, parent psychopathology). Few studies, however, have examined discrepancies in how mothers and fathers rate child behavior during a stressful family context such as a parent's wartime deployment. The present study of 174 military families (children aged 6 to 11 years; 54.0% female) examined whether family factors (parental sense of control, marital satisfaction) and contextual risk factors related to a parent's wartime deployment (number and length of deployments, battle experiences, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms) were associated with discrepancies in how mothers and fathers rated internalizing and externalizing behaviors in their children. Using a latent congruency model, our results showed that when parents self‐reported higher levels of PTSD symptoms, both mothers, β = −.33, p = .021, and fathers, β = .41, p = .026, tended to also report higher levels of internalizing symptoms in their child, relative to what their spouse reported. In comparison to mothers, fathers also tended to report higher levels of child externalizing symptoms, β = .44, p = .019. Our findings may help clinicians understand how parent mental health within a stressful family context relates and/or informs a parent's ratings on assessments of his or her child's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Resumen Spanish s by the Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET) Discrepancias entre los padres en la calificación de las conductas infantiles después del despliegue en tiempo de guerra CALIFICACIONES DE CONDUCTA INFANTIL EN PADRES MILITARES Los investigadores han demostrado que los padres a menudo no están de acuerdo en sus calificaciones sobre el comportamiento de sus hijos y que estas discrepancias suelen estar relacionadas con las características del niño y la familia (por ejemplo, edad del niño, psicopatología de los padres). Pocos estudios, sin embargo, han examinado las discrepancias en cómo las madres y los padres califican el comportamiento de los niños durante un contexto familiar estresante, como el despliegue en tiempo de guerra de los padres. El presente estudio de 174 familias militares (niños de 6 a 11 años, 54,0% mujeres) examinó si factores familiares (sentido de control parental, satisfacción conyugal) y factores de riesgo contextuales relaci
ISSN:0894-9867
1573-6598
DOI:10.1002/jts.22257