Exploring child temperament and parenting influences on children's internalising and externalising difficulties

Background: Children’s psychological difficulties are frequently differentiated into internalising and externalising problems. Research has shown that there are reciprocal influences between parents and children in the development of these difficulties including parenting and child temperament. Aims: This study aimed to explore the individual and interactive contribution of child temperament (negative affect, delayed gratification, risk aversion and patience) and positive parenting on both internalising and externalising problems. Methods: The sample included 3140 boys and girls recruited as part of data collection for Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). A series of multiple linear regressions were estimated and slope tests were conducted to probe significant interaction terms. Results: Higher scores of risk aversion and negative affect predicted more internalising and externalising problems for boys and girls. Increased patience predicted fewer externalising problems. For boys only increased delayed gratification predicted fewer externalising problems. Several significant interaction terms between parenting and child temperament were found. When mother’s positive parenting was low and risk aversion was low, children displayed more externalising problems. Boys who had low ability to delay gratification had more externalising problems and this effect was heightened at lower levels of maternal positive parenting. Girls who were more willing to take risks (i.e. had low risk aversion) had fewer internalising problems when fathers were rated as being more positive in their parenting. However, when girls were highly risk averse more positive parenting by fathers contributed to more internalising problems. When girls had low levels of risk aversion more positive parenting by fathers reduced ratings of externalising problems. Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of considering parent child influences in the context of gender and plausible explanations for different gender interactions are discussed. Links between the results and children’s self-regulation are drawn and the potential benefit of parenting interventions to encourage child self-regulation are considered.