A longitudinal exploration of the bi-directional relationship between parenting practices and child aggression and the potential moderating effect of race on that relationship

This study addressed the paucity of literature regarding the transactional relationship between parenting and child behavior by extending from the work of several previous studies, and using multiple regression analyses to examine race and SES as moderators of the relationship between three Time 1 parenting constructs (corporal punishment, parental involvement, and parental monitoring) and Time 2 teacher-reported child aggression. Path analysis tested the reciprocal relationship between each parenting practice and child aggression across time. Participants were 126 boys and were 53% African American, who were more likely to be from lower SES and have higher teacher-reported aggression. Regression results revealed SES was a significant predictor of static level as well as level of change in aggression from Time 1 to Time 2. Greater parental involvement predicted lower levels of child aggression 1 year later and reduced aggression over time. Higher levels of corporal punishment predicted increased aggression over time. Poorer parental monitoring predicted higher levels of aggression 1 year later. No significant interactions emerged for corporal punishment or parental involvement.;When covarying Time 1 aggression, Time 1 Monitoring*Race and Time 1 Monitoring*SES and when SES was controlled for, race no longer moderated the relationship. Path analyses supported a reciprocal relationship between child aggression, corporal punishment, and parental involvement, but offered little support for the relationship between child aggression and parental monitoring. Aggression levels early on were the best predictors of later levels of aggression. Two aspects of the regression results suggest that SES is more important than race in predicting aggression: (a) race as a predictor dropped out when SES was entered, while SES remained a significant predictor when race was entered; (b) SES, and not race, predicted changes in aggression 1 year later. Findings support previous evidence suggesting that SES plays an important role in the proliferation of aggression with reciprocal effects for child aggression and corporal punishment and parental monitoring suggesting that these elements mutually maintain each other. Effective programs to prevent aggressive behavior need to affect multiple facets of children's lives, be implemented over an extended period of time, and contain a parental component.