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Mothering under political violence: Post‐traumatic symptoms, observed maternal parenting practices and child externalising behaviour
Author(s) -
Zamir Osnat,
Gewirtz Abigail H.,
Dekel Rachel,
Lavi Tamar,
Tangir Gali
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1002/ijop.12557
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , distress , psychological intervention , clinical psychology , psychiatry
Using the family stress model as our conceptual framework, we explored whether observed maternal parenting practices (positive and coercive) account for the associations between mothers' post‐traumatic stress symptoms and children's externalising behaviours. Mothers' self‐reported post‐traumatic stress symptoms, observed maternal practices, and reports of children's externalising behaviour were collected from 123 Israeli mothers and their children, who were exposed to ongoing rocket attacks in southern Israel. A structural equation model revealed that mothers' post‐traumatic stress symptoms were linked with greater maternal coercive parenting practices, which in turn were associated with more externalising behaviours in children. The study highlights the crucial role of maternal distress and mothers' parenting skills in the development of externalising behaviours in children exposed to chronic political violence. These results suggest that prevention interventions designed to promote parenting skills for mothers exposed to political violence may be beneficial for children's healthy development.