Temperament and parenting during the first year of life predict future child conduct problems

Abstract

Predictive associations between parenting and temperament during the first year of life and child conduct problems were assessed longitudinally in 1,863 offspring of a representative sample of women. Maternal ratings of infant fussiness, activity level, predictability, and positive affect each independently predicted maternal ratings of conduct problems during ages 4-13 years. Furthermore, a significant interaction indicated that infants who were both low in fussiness and high in predictability were at very low risk for future conduct problems. Fussiness was a stronger predictor of conduct problems in boys whereas fearfulness was a stronger predictor in girls. Conduct problems also were robustly predicted by low levels of early mother-report cognitive stimulation when infant temperament was controlled. Interviewer-rated maternal responsiveness was a robust predictor of conduct problems, but only among infants low in fearfulness. Spanking during infancy predicted slightly more severe conduct problems, but the prediction was moderated by infant fussiness and positive affect. Thus, individual differences in risk for mother-rated conduct problems across childhood are already partly evident in maternal ratings of temperament during the first year of life and are predicted by early parenting and parenting-by-temperament interactions.

Figure 1

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among children with maternal ratings in the top 25%, middle 50%, or bottom 25% of the sample distributions of fussiness (upper left), activity level (upper right), predictability of rhythms and mood (lower left), and positive affect (lower right) during infancy. Note that prospective associations of these infant predictors with later conduct problems were testing using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.

Figure 2

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among infants with maternal ratings in the top 25%, middle 50%, or bottom 25% of the sample distributions of the two dimensions of infant temperament, presented separately for girls and boys for predictors for which there were significant interactions with the infant’s sex: fussiness (upper left and right) and fearfulness (lower left and right). Note that prospective associations of these infant predictors with later conduct problems were testing using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.

Figure 3

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among infants with maternal ratings in the top or bottom quartile of the sample distributions of infant predictability, presented separately for infants with maternal ratings in the top quartile (left panel) or bottom quartile (right panel) of the sample distributions of infant fussiness to illustrated the significant fussiness-by-predictability interaction. Note that prospective associations of these infant predictors with later conduct problems were testing using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.

Figure 4

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among children with maternal reports in the top 25%, middle 50%, or bottom 25% of the sample distribution of cognitive stimulation of the infant. Note that the prospective association of cognitive stimulation during infancy with later conduct problems was tested using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.

Figure 5

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among children with who were or were not spanked during the first year of life, separately for Non-Hispanic European American, African American, and Hispanic infants. Note that the prospective associations of these infant predictors with later conduct problems were tested using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.

Figure 6

Weighted medians of the average maternal rating of child conduct problems across 4–13 years of age among children whose mothers were rated by interviewers as being in the top or bottom quartiles of maternal responsiveness during the first year of life, presented separately for infants in the lowest quartile (left panel) or in the highest quartile of the distribution of infant fearfulness scores (right panel). Note that the prospective associations of these infant predictors with later conduct problems were tested using repeated measures of conduct problems across 4–13 years in longitudinal analyses; the median level of conduct problems across these ages is used here only to facilitate graphic presentation.