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Differential Effects of Family Stress Exposure and Harsh Parental Discipline on Child Social Competence

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Abstract

Low family socioeconomic status (SES) is a robust risk factor for adverse child outcomes, yet the specific processes that account for this risk are not fully understood. This study examines whether and how variation in two adverse factors, stressful life events and harsh parental discipline, affect children’s social competence within a high-risk environment, and whether some children are more vulnerable to these effects than others. Data were collected from 207 families of kindergarten children at risk for behavioral maladjustment. Children’s physiological regulation (respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) measured during rest was examined as a moderator of risk exposure. Results indicate that both greater exposure to life stress and harsh discipline were correlated with lower social competence. Although children’s resting RSA was not a direct predictor of their social competence, it moderated the association between life stress and social competence. Greater exposure to life stress was more strongly associated with lower social competence among children with lower resting RSA. Higher RSA may help to buffer the effects of stress and facilitate appropriate social development. RSA did not moderate the effects of harsh discipline. This differential pattern of findings suggests that children’s physiological regulation can facilitate an effective response to situational stressors, but may be less efficacious in buffering against stress in the context of the parent-child relationship.

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Author Contributions

K.C.: formed the research questions, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. L.G.-K.: collaborated with the analyses and writing of the final manuscript. G.F.: provided guidance for the family-related concepts of the study and collaborated in the editing of the final manuscript.

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  1. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Kristine L. Creavey, Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp & Gregory M. Fosco

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  1. Kristine L. Creavey
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  2. Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp
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  3. Gregory M. Fosco
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Correspondence to Kristine L. Creavey.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Pennsylvania State University IRB and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Creavey, K.L., Gatzke-Kopp, L.M. & Fosco, G.M. Differential Effects of Family Stress Exposure and Harsh Parental Discipline on Child Social Competence. J Child Fam Stud 27, 483–493 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0913-3

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