Maternal discipline in the moment: Within-person fluctuations in maternal self-efficacy, attributions, and intended disciplinary responses in the context of challenging toddler behavior

By studying momentary parental cognitions and disciplinary responses in challenging parenting situations, we tested the prediction of Social Information Processing (SIP) models that how parents respond to challenging child behavior depends on within-person cognitive processes triggered by situational stimulus events. Mothers of 403 toddlers (M age = 36.17 months, SD = 6.83; 52.1% boys) were presented with 4 hypothetical challenging parenting situations and reported about their feelings of parental self-efficacy (PSE), dysfunctional attributions (child-responsible and parent-causal), and intended disciplinary response (positive and harsh discipline) if they were in that situation with their toddler. Data were analyzed using the principles of the random intercept cross-lagged panel models, which allowed to separate between-person variation (mean scores of parental measures across the four situations, that is, “general” cognitions and behavior) from within-person variation (momentary scores of parental cognitions and discipline). Within-person results supported SIP models: if in a particular situation a mother felt more efficacious than she generally did, she was less likely to make dysfunctional attributions and to respond with a disciplinary reaction. Different patterns of associations were found between momentary versus general parental cognitions and intended disciplinary responses, especially for positive discipline. Our findings highlight the importance to distinguish between momentary and general parental cognitions and behaviors and to use within-person analyses to understand the cognitive processes underlying parental disciplinary responses.