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Identifying Mother–child Interaction Styles Using a Person‐centered Approach
Author(s) -
Nelson Jackie A.,
O'Brien Marion,
Grimm Kevin J.,
Leerkes Esther M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/sode.12040
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , stressor , social relation , parenting styles , competence (human resources) , longitudinal study , intrusiveness , context (archaeology) , style (visual arts) , social psychology , clinical psychology , statistics , paleontology , history , mathematics , archaeology , biology
Parent–child conflict in the context of a supportive relationship has been discussed as a potentially constructive interaction pattern; the current study is the first to test this using a holistic analytic approach. Interaction styles, defined as mother–child conflict in the context of maternal sensitivity, were identified and described with demographic and stress‐related characteristics of families. Longitudinal associations were tested between interaction styles and children's later social competence. Participants included 814 partnered mothers with a first‐grade child. Latent profile analysis identified agreeable, dynamic, and disconnected interaction styles. Mothers' intimacy with a partner, depressive symptoms, and authoritarian childrearing beliefs, along with children's later conflict with a best friend and externalizing problems, were associated with group membership. Notably, the dynamic style, characterized by high sensitivity and high conflict, included families who experienced psychological and relational stressors. Findings are discussed with regard to how family stressors shape parent–child interaction patterns.