Trajectories of maternal aggression in early childhood: Associations with parenting stress, family resources, and neighborhood cohesion

Abstract

BackgroundThe effects of family risk on parenting can be ameliorated or exacerbated depending on factors internal (e.g., appraisals, regulation) and external (e.g., resources, social support) to the role of parenting. Therefore, it is important to distinguish between sources of stress when exploring associations with parenting behaviors. ObjectiveWe aimed to identify trajectories of maternal aggression among families across various levels of risk, and explore associations with factors internal and external to parenting. Participants and settingParticipants included children in large U.S. cities born between 1998 and 2000, followed through age 9, in the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study with medical records data available (N = 3529). MethodLatent growth curve modeling was conducted to identify trajectories of maternal aggression measured through a survey at child age 3, 5, and 9. Correlates of maternal aggression (i.e., family risk for maltreatment, income-to-poverty ratios, maternal education, parenting stress, and neighborhood cohesion) were measured through medical records and maternal surveys at birth, age 1, and age 3. ResultsMaternal aggression similarly declined between child age 3 and 9 across low-, moderate-, and high-risk families. Across all families, neighborhood social cohesion was significantly, negatively associated with maternal aggression, (β’s = −.20 to −.28, p’s < .001) and increases in parenting stress were significant predictors among Low Risk (β = .12, p = .006) and High Risk (β = .10, p = .02) families. ConclusionThe results suggest that families could benefit from supportive neighborhood environments or parenting stress reduction techniques, regardless of level of risk at birth.