Anxiousness, Frustration, and Effortful Control as Moderators of the Relation between Parenting and Adjustment in Middle-childhood

Interactions among multiple dimensions of child temperament and parenting were tested as predictors of change in child adjustment problems using a community sample (N = 188) of children (8–12 years). Significant interactions suggested that the effect of parenting on changes in problems were dependent upon temperament and, in some cases, child sex. Effortful control mitigated the potential negative impact of inconsistent discipline and physical punishment on externalizing problems, whereas frustration exacerbated the effects of inconsistent discipline and rejection. Anxiousness moderated parenting only for boys, mitigating the impact of inconsistent discipline on internalizing and externalizing problems but exacerbating the effects of physical punishment on externalizing problems. Implications for identifying children at risk for developing adjustment problems and for parenting interventions are discussed.