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The Role of Temperament by Family Environment Interactions in Child Maladjustment

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Abstract

In order to advance our understanding of the etiology of individual differences in child maladjustment (i.e., conduct and emotional problems), we tested hypotheses about the statistical interactions between child temperament and two aspects of the family environment: maternal negativity and positivity, and household chaos (e.g., crowding, noise, lack of routines). Mothers (n = 149) reported on their child’s effortful control, negative affect, surgency, and behavioral/emotional problems. The age range of the children was 3 to 7 years old and half of the sample was girls. Observers rated maternal negativity and positivity based on brief structured interaction tasks in the laboratory. Child temperament moderated the association between maternal negativity/positivity and child maladjustment. Maternal negativity and child problem behavior were associated only for those children who also were high in surgency or negative affectivity. Maternal positivity was associated with less child problem behavior for those high in surgency. Child effortful control interacted with both maternal negativity and chaos. Maternal negativity and child problem behavior were most strongly associated for children who were low in effortful control and living in chaotic homes. The results point to distinct transactions between child temperament and maternal negativity/positivity that depend in part on the dimensions of temperament and parenting behavior in question.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the study participants and research staff. This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grants HD57319 and HD60110. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NICHD or National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, 109 Williams Hall (0436), Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA

    Nan Chen, Kirby Deater-Deckard & Martha Ann Bell

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  1. Nan Chen
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  2. Kirby Deater-Deckard
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Correspondence to Kirby Deater-Deckard.

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Chen, N., Deater-Deckard, K. & Bell, M.A. The Role of Temperament by Family Environment Interactions in Child Maladjustment. J Abnorm Child Psychol 42, 1251–1262 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-014-9872-y

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