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The Mediating Effects of Parenting Behaviors on Maternal Affect and Reports of Children’s Behavior

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Abstract

Parenting behaviors have received ample support as a mediator of the relationship between maternal affect and child behavior problems. The majority of these research efforts were based on a uni-dimensional conceptualization of maternal mood, even though decades of theory and research suggest that mood is multidimensional. We examined the mediating role of parenting behaviors on positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) and reports of child behavior problems. Evidence for mediation was demonstrated for both PA and NA for children in early to middle childhood. Consistent with the positive psychology movement, our results suggest that maternal PA plays an important role in parents’ utilization of effective parenting behaviors. Implications for clinical intervention and future research are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank John Duby, M.D. and Diane L. Langkamp, M.D., M.P.H., for their administrative assistance with data collection, Rob Dempster and Elissa Lampe for assistance with data collection and entry, and Manfred H. M. van Dulmen, Ph.D., for thoughtful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

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Correspondence to Bryan T. Karazsia.

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Karazsia, B.T., Wildman, B.G. The Mediating Effects of Parenting Behaviors on Maternal Affect and Reports of Children’s Behavior. J Child Fam Stud 18, 342–349 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-008-9236-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-008-9236-8

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