Abstract
This study examined whether children's difficulties with stage-salient tasks served as an explanatory mechanism in the pathway between their insecurity in the interparental relationship and their disruptive behavior problems. Using a multimethod, multi-informant design, 201 two-year-old children and their mothers participated in 3 annual measurement occasions. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that coder ratings of children's insecure responses to interparental conflict from a maternal interview predicted observer ratings of their difficulties with stage-salient tasks (i.e., emotion regulation, autonomy, resourceful problem solving) 1year later after controlling for initial stage-salient task performance. Stage-salient task difficulties, in turn, predicted experimenter reports of children's behavior problems 1year later. Associations remained robust in the broader context of other pathways hypothesized in prevailing developmental cascade models.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 297-312 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Child development |
Volume | 84 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2013 |