The Role of Socioeconomic Status in the Relation Between Parenting and Child Externalizing Behavior

Abstract Negative and harsh parenting strategies are associated with more child externalizing behavior, while greater parental involvement and positive reinforcement are associated with less child externalizing behavior. However, parenting strategies do not exert the same influences on every child. The present study sought to elucidate whether associations between parenting and child externalizing behaviors differ depending on socioeconomic status (SES). We conducted secondary analyses on a sample of primary caregivers of youths in middle childhood. Measures of externalizing behavior, SES, and parenting were administered to 348 primary caregivers (347 women, M age = 39.1, SD age = 6.9). Caregiver-reported child race and ethnicity was primarily split between white, Black or African American, and Hispanic/Latine backgrounds (30.2%, 29.6%, and 24.7%, respectively). Pearson correlations tested for bivariate associations between parenting strategies, child externalizing behaviors, and SES; multivariate regression analyses tested whether associations between parenting strategies and child externalizing behaviors differed by SES. Poor monitoring and supervision, inconsistent discipline, and corporal punishment were associated with higher incidence of multiple forms of externalizing behavior. Parental involvement was associated with lower incidence of rule breaking behavior and physical aggression. Youths of lower family-level SES exhibited more relational aggression when reared with positive parenting, while youths of higher family-level SES exhibited less relational aggression when reared with positive parenting. Results indicate that many parenting strategies may affect behavior similarly for children of higher and lower SES, but positive parenting may affect relational aggression differently for children of higher versus lower family-level SES. Objective: Negative and harsh parenting strategies are associated with more child externalizing behavior, while greater parental involvement and positive reinforcement are associated with less child externalizing behavior. However, parenting strategies do not exert the same influences on every child. The present study sought to elucidate whether associations between parenting and child externalizing behaviors differ depending on socioeconomic status (SES). Method: We conducted secondary analyses on a sample of primary caregivers of youths in middle childhood. Measures of externalizing behavior, SES, and parenting were administered to 348 primary caregivers (347 women, M age = 39.1, SD age = 6.9). Caregiver-reported child race and ethnicity was primarily split between white, Black or African American, and Hispanic/Latine backgrounds (30.2%, 29.6%, and 24.7%, respectively). Pearson correlations tested for bivariate associations between parenting strategies, child externalizing behaviors, and SES; multivariate regression analyses tested whether associations between parenting strategies and child externalizing behaviors differed by SES. Results: Poor monitoring and supervision, inconsistent discipline, and corporal punishment were associated with higher incidence of multiple forms of externalizing behavior. Parental involvement was associated with lower incidence of rule breaking behavior and physical aggression. Youths of lower family-level SES exhibited more relational aggression when reared with positive parenting, while youths of higher family-level SES exhibited less relational aggression when reared with positive parenting. Conclusions: Results indicate that many parenting strategies may affect behavior similarly for children of higher and lower SES, but positive parenting may affect relational aggression differently for children of higher versus lower family-level SES.