Gender Influences on Parenting Practices among Caregivers of Children with Behavioral Disorders in Uganda

Abstract Gendered parenting practices influence children’s cognitive and developmental competencies such as emotional regulation and social wellbeing, and may contribute to or exacerbate disruptive behavioral disorders among children. This paper assesses whether there are any gender differences in parenting practices among caregivers of children with disruptive behavioral disorders in Uganda, and identifies any other psychosocial factors that may contribute to these variations. We utilize data from data from the SMART Africa – Uganda study, a longitudinal experimental study that examined the effectiveness of Amaka Amasanyufu, an evidence-based Multiple Family Group (MFG) intervention aimed at improving child behavioral challenges among children aged 8 – 13 years. The primary outcome was parenting practices, measured using the 9-item Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ-9). Key independent predictors included gender conceptualized as threefold taxonomy of distinctive intra-familial relationships corresponding to father-son, mother-daughter, and mixed gender; family cohesion and caregiver mental health. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, we found that compared to mixed caregiver-child dyads, caregivers in the female caregiver – female child dyads (both females) were significantly less likely to report poor parenting practices, overall (β = −0.99; 95% CI: −1.62 - −0.35) and on the poor supervision sub-scale (β = −0.56; 95% CI: −1.04 - −0.08). Higher family cohesion, lower caregiver mental distress, higher education attainment and asset ownership were associated with positive parenting practices. Our findings suggest that family-based interventions should take into account how gender dynamics and caregiver characteristics may shape intervention outcomes through their impact on family processes such as parenting practices.