Maternal parenting stress, children's social competence, and externalizing problems: A three-wave longitudinal study in intimate partner violence affected families

Background

Although the relationship between parenting stress and children's externalizing problems has been well-documented, limited evidence exists in high-stress family contexts, such as those affected by inter-parental intimate partner violence (IPV), which severely impacts both parents and children. Additionally, previous studies often neglect a child-centric perspective, particularly the role of children's social competence as a potential mediator in these dynamics.

Objective

This study aimed to explore the longitudinal relationships among maternal parenting stress, children's social competence, and externalizing problems in IPV-affected families.

Participants and setting

Using data from The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, 718 dyads of abused mothers and their children were included at ages 5, 9, and 15.

Methods

Cross-lagged panel models were employed to analyze the directional relationship between variables, and bootstrap analysis was used to test potential indirect pathways.

Results

In IPV-affected families, children's externalizing problems directly increased maternal parenting stress, while children's social competence directly reduced externalizing problems. Maternal parenting stress and children's social competence showed a bidirectional relationship. Additionally, parenting stress indirectly influenced children's externalizing problems through social competence; children's social competence predicted parenting stress through externalizing problems; children's externalizing problems predicted social competence through parenting stress.

Conclusions

Children's externalizing problems and social competence directly influenced maternal parenting stress, whereas maternal parenting stress's effect on children's externalizing problems was indirect and mediated by social competence over a longer time frame. The findings highlight the bidirectionality of parent-child dynamics in IPV-affected families and underscore the distinct roles of parent-driven and child-driven factors.