Indirect effects of intrusive parenting on externalizing behaviors in socioeconomically disadvantaged children: A parallel mediation analysis

Although emerging research has identified intrusive parenting as a crucial risk factor for childhood externalizing behaviors, the mechanisms that underlie this relation warrant further investigation. Hence, the present study examined common executive functioning (EF) and expressive verbal abilities as parallel mediators in the associations between intrusive parenting and externalizing behaviors (i.e., hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems) in preschool-aged children from low-income families. Data from the Family Life Project (N = 1050, M_age = 3 years 2 months) was analyzed using structural equation modelling. We found that common EF and expressive verbal abilities separately mediated the respective pathways from intrusive parenting to preschool-aged children’s hyperactivity/inattention problems and conduct problems. These findings held when key covariates-age, gender, household income, ethnicity, and state of residence—were controlled for. Notably, our findings provide evidence of potentially differing processes that explain the link between intrusive parenting and separable aspects of externalizing behaviors in young children from disadvantaged families.