Abstract
Background
Biased parental attributions, or biased thinking about the cause of children’s behavior, are linked to harsh and negative parenting in parents of children with disruptive behavior disorders. However, little is known about moderators of this link.
Objective
The current study explored whether child callous-unemotional (CU) traits may be a moderator of the association between parental attributions and parenting behaviors.
Method
Data were collected from 121 parents of children (M = 10.27; SD = 1.06) clinic-referred for disruptive behavior difficulties. Parents reported on parental attributions (parent-causal, child-responsible), parenting behaviors (positive parenting, inconsistent discipline, poor supervision), and children’s CU traits.
Results
Results of the path analysis demonstrated that parent-causal attributions were associated with less positive and more negative parenting behavior while child-responsible attributions were associated with more positive parenting behaviors. High levels of child-responsible attributions combined with elevated child CU traits were associated with poorer supervision.
Conclusions
Building on existing research on parental attributions, the results provide limited preliminary evidence that the association between child-directed attributions and negative parenting may be moderated by children’s stable trait characteristics.
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Availability of Data and Material
Data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
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Acknowledgements
The research presented in this manuscript was the basis of the first author’s honor’s thesis project.
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This work was supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation to the last author.
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Arslan, D., Kil, H. & Andrade, B.F. Exploring the Moderating Role of Child Callous-Unemotional Traits on the Link Between Parental Attributions and Parenting Behaviors. Child Youth Care Forum 51, 885–900 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-021-09654-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-021-09654-w