Multiple determinants of externalizing behavior in 5-year-olds: a longitudinal model

Abstract

In a community sample of 116 children, assessments of parent-child interaction, parent-child attachment, and various parental, child, and contextual characteristics at 15 and 28 months and at age 5 were used to predict externalizing behavior at age 5, as rated by parents and teachers. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis and path analysis yielded a significant longitudinal model for the prediction of age 5 externalizing behavior, with independent contributions from the following predictors: child sex, partner support reported by the caregiver, disorganized infant-parent attachment at 15 months, child anger proneness at 28 months, and one of the two parent-child interaction factors observed at 28 months, namely negative parent-child interactions. The other, i.e., a lack of effective guidance, predicted externalizing problems only in highly anger-prone children. Furthermore, mediated pathways of influence were found for the parent-child interaction at 15 months (via disorganized attachment) and parental ego-resiliency (via negative parent-child interaction at 28 months).

Fig. 1

Child externalizing behavior scores in relation to effective guidance for children high and low on anger-proneness

Fig. 2

Final path model summarizing the pattern of direct, moderated, and mediated relations between predictors at 15 and 28 months and age 5 externalizing behavior. Values given are standardized path coefficients. ^*p < .05. ^**p < .01