Parenting stress mediates the association between negative affect and harsh parenting: A dyadic perspective
Open Access
- Author:
- Le, Yunying
- Graduate Program:
- Human Development and Family Studies
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- June 30, 2015
- Committee Members:
- Steffany Jane Fredman, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Mark E Feinberg, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- negative affect
neuroticism
parenting stress
harsh parenting
APIM - Abstract:
- The current study examined parenting stress as a mediator of the association between trait level negative affect (i.e., neuroticism) and harsh parenting in a couple context for first time parents with a child transitioning from the late toddlerhood to early preschool years. Participants were 169 co-resident heterosexual couples recruited for a randomized controlled trial of a psychoeducational program, Family Foundations, during the transition to parenthood. Actor Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM) and mediation for APIM were used to examine the association between men and women’s neuroticism and harsh parenting and whether parenting stress accounts for this association when the children were approximately 3.5 years old. Results indicated that for both men and women, (1) one’s neuroticism is positively associated with one’s own harsh parenting (actor effects); (2) one’s neuroticism is positively associated with one’s partner’s harsh parenting (partner effects); (3) one’s parenting stress accounts for the association between one’s neuroticism and one’s harsh parenting; (4) one’s partner’s parenting stress accounts for the association between one’s neuroticism and one’s partner’s harsh parenting. Further, the association between one’s neuroticism and harsh parenting was attenuated for couples in the Family Foundation group. Findings suggest that trait level parental negative affect (i.e. neuroticism) is associated with harsh parenting through increased parental stress for both partners but that participation in a co-parenting program during the transition to parenthood may help to mitigate the risk of harsh parenting among individuals high in negative affectivity during relatively high stress developmental transitions.