Parenting as a moderator of the effects of cumulative risk on children's social-emotional adjustment and academic readiness.

Abstract

This study examined whether parenting moderated the association between cumulative risk and preschool children's adjustment problems, social competence and academic readiness. The sample consisted of 306 families representing the full range of income, with 29% at or near poverty and 28% lower income. Cumulative risk and observed maternal parenting behaviors were assessed when the children were 36-40 months, and teachers rated outcomes at 63-68 months. Greater cumulative risk was more strongly related to higher adjustment problems when scaffolding was low, and unrelated when it was high, suggesting a protective effect. Consistent limit setting was associated with higher academic readiness regardless of risk level, and at low levels of risk it was associated with the highest levels of social competence. A pattern potentially indicating differential effectiveness emerged for warmth, such that at lower levels of risk, higher warmth was associated with better outcomes, but at higher levels of risk, it was associated with higher levels of problems and poorer social competence and academic readiness. Results suggest that buffering effects of particular parenting behaviors, both alone and in combination, may be context-specific.