Perspectives of children of color on maternal parenting: Contributions of behavior problems and assets.

Abstract

Seminal work on parenting indicates that children's perceptions of positive and negative maternal parenting are related to a myriad of outcomes, including academic success, behavioral functioning, and psychological health. Minimal research has examined factors contributing to how children of color perceive maternal parenting practices. Guided by Ungar's social ecological model and developmental assets theory, this study assessed how child behavior problems and social ecological assets at individual, relational, and contextual levels were related to positive and negative maternal parenting perceptions. Participants included 263 child-mother dyads recruited from community organizations in the Midsouth, United States. Children ranged in age from 8 to 17 years old (M_age = 12.13, SD = 2.77; 88.2% Black) and female caregivers ranged in age from 23 to 64 years old (M_age = 36.43, SD = 7.89; 82.9% Black). The sample was recruited based on maternal caregivers' experiences with substance abuse, violence, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome/human immunodeficiency virus (SAVA). Research is lacking on factors related to parenting perceptions among families exposed to SAVA in the United States, despite past studies showing links between SAVA and parenting. Findings from a multivariate linear regression revealed that younger child age, more internal assets, and more community assets were related to greater positive maternal parenting perceptions, while more behavior problems and fewer community assets were associated with more negative parenting perceptions. Results highlight the differential contributions of assets and behavioral difficulties to how children perceive maternal parenting. Such knowledge could inform the development of family-focused, multisystemic interventions that may enhance parenting practices while strengthening the mother-child relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).