The authors studied the association between parenting practices and conduct problem behavior in a sample of 179 clinic-referred children and adolescents. Parenting practices were assessed using a multi-informant and multimethod assessment system. Conduct problems were the DSMIII-R criteria for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder assessed by a structured psychiatric interview with multiple informants. Results indicated that parents” involvement in their children”s activities was most strongly predictive of conduct problems in the adolescent age group (ages 13-17), whereas corporal punishment was most strongly associated with conduct problems in the middle age group (ages 9-12). Parents’ monitoring and supervision of their children”s behavior was moderately predictive of conduct problems in both of these age groups but only weakly predictive in the youngest age group (ages 6-9). Finally, parental consistency in using disciplinewas highly predictive of conduct problems in the adolescent age group and moderately predictive in the youngest age group.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association . (1987). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed. revised). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychiatric Association . (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
Bierman, K. L. , & Smoot, D. L. (1991). Linking family characteristics with poor peer relations: The mediating role of conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19, 341-356.
4.
Cernkovich, S. A. , & Giordano, P. C. (1987). Family relationships and delinquency. Criminology, 25, 295-321.
5.
Dishion, T. J. , Patterson, G. R., Stoolmiller, M., & Skinner, M. L. (1991). Family, school and behavioral antecedents to early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers. Developmental Psychology, 27, 172-180.
6.
Frick, P. J. (1991). The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire. Unpublished rating scale, University of Alabama.
7.
Frick, P. J. (1998). Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems: Applying the two-factor model of psychopathy to children. In R. D. Hare, D. Cooke, & A. Forth (Eds.), Psychopathy: Theory, research, and implications for society (pp. 161-187). Dordresch, the Netherlands: Kluwer.
8.
Frick, P. J. , & Hare, R. D. (in press). The psychopathy screening device—PSD. Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems.
9.
Frick, P. J. , & Jackson, Y. K. (1993). Family functioning and childhood antisocial behavior: Yet another reinterpretation. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 410-419.
10.
Frick, P. J. , Lahey, B. B., Applegate, B., Kerdyck, L., Ollendick, T., Hynd, G. W., Garfinkel, B., Greenhill, L., Biederman, J., Barkley, R. A., McBurnett, K., Newcorn, J., & Waldman, I. (1994). DSM-IV field trials for the disruptive behavior disorders: Use of symptom utility estimates. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 529-539.
11.
Frick, P. J. , Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., Christ, M.A.G., & Hanson, K. (1992). Familial risk factors to conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder: Parental psychopathology and maternal parenting. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 49-55.
12.
Frick, P. J. , & O’Brien, B. S. (1994). Conduct disorders. In R. T. Ammerman & M. Hersen (Eds.), Handbook of child behavior therapy in the psychiatric setting (pp. 199-216). New York: Wiley.
13.
Hauser, R. M. , & Featherman, D. L. (1977). The process of stratification. New York: Academic Press.
14.
Hembree-Kigin, T. L. , & McNeil, C. B. (1995). Parent-child interaction therapy. New York: Plenum.
15.
Jang, S. J. , & Krohn, M. D. (1995). Developmental patterns of sex differences in delinquency among African-American adolescents: A test of the sex-invariance hypothesis. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 11, 195-221.
16.
Keller, H. R. (1986). Behavioral observation approaches to personality assessment. In H. M. Knoff (Ed.), The assessment of child and adolescent personality (pp. 353-390). New York: Guilford.
17.
LaGrange, R. L. , & White, H. R. (1985). Age differences in delinquency: A test of theory. Criminology, 23, 19-45.J
18.
Lahey, B. B. , Applegate, B., Barkley, R. A., Garfinkel, B., McBurnett, K., Kerdyck, L., Green-hill, L., Hynd, G. W., Frick, P. J., Newcorn, J., Biederman, J., Ollendick, T., Hart, E. L., Perez, D., Waldman,I., & Shaffer, D. (1994). DSM-IV field trials for oppositional disorder and conduct disorder in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1163-1171.
19.
Laub, J. H. , & Sampson, R. J. (1988). Unraveling families and delinquency: A reanalysis of the Gluecks’ data. Criminology, 26, 355-379.
20.
LeBlanc, M. (1992). Family dynamics, adolescent delinquency, and adult criminality. Psychiatry, 55, 336-353.
21.
Loeber, R. , & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1986). Family factors as correlates and predictors of juvenile conduct problems and delinquency. In M. Tonry & N. Morris (Eds.), Crime and justice (Vol. 7, pp. 29-149) Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
22.
Lytton, H. (1990). Child and parent effects in boys’conduct disorder: A reinterpretation. Developmental Psychology, 26, 683-697.
23.
Lykken, D. T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
24.
McNeil, C. B. , Eyberg, S., Eisenstadt, T. H., Newcomb, K., & Funderbunk, B. (1991). Parentchild interaction therapy with behavior problem children: Generalization of treatment effects to the school setting. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 140-151.
25.
Neeper, R. , Lahey, B. B., & Frick, P. J. (1990). The Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scale for Children manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
26.
Paikoff, R. L. , & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1991). Do parent-child relationships change during puberty?Psychological Bulletin, 110, 47-66.
27.
Patterson, G. R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
28.
Patterson, G. R. , Dishion, R. J., & Bank, L. (1984). Family interaction: A process model of deviancy training. Aggressive Behavior, 10, 253-267.
29.
Patterson, G. R. , & Forgatch, M. (1987). Parents and adolescents living together: Part 1. The basics. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
30.
Patterson, G. R. , Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1992). Antisocial boys. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
31.
Piacentini, J. C. , Cohen, P., & Cohen, J. (1992). Combining discrepant diagnostic information from multiple sources: Are complex algorithms better than simple ones. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 51-63.
32.
Seydlitz, R. (1991). The effects of age and gender on parental control and delinquency. Youth and Society, 23, 175-201.
33.
Shaffer, D. , Fisher, P., Piacentini, J., Schwab-Stone, M., & Wicks, J. (1992). Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (Version 2.3). New York: Columbia University Press.
34.
Shelton, K. K. , Frick, P. J., & Wootton, J. (1996). Assessment of parenting practices in families of elementary school-aged children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25, 317-329.
35.
Steinmetz, S. K. (1979). Disciplinary techniques and their relationship to aggressiveness, dependency, and conscience. In W. R. Burr, R. Hill, F. I. Nye, & I. L. Reiss (Eds.), Contemporary theories about the family (Vol. 1, pp. 405-438). New York: Free Press.
36.
Strassberg, Z. , Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Spanking in the home and children’s subsequent aggression toward kindergarten peers. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 445-461.
37.
Van Voorhis, P. , Cullen, F. T., Mathers, R. A., & Garner, C. C. (1988). The impact of family structure and quality on delinquency: A comparative assessment of structural and functional factors. Criminology, 26, 235-259.
38.
Wahler, R. G. , & Dumas, J. E. (1984). Changing the observational coding styles of insular and noninsular mothers: A step toward maintenance of parent training effects. In R. F. Dangel & R. A. Polster (Eds.), Parent training: Foundations of research and practice (pp. 379-416). New York: Guilford.
39.
Wauchope, B. , & Straus, M. A. (1990). Physical punishment and physical abuse of American children: Incidence rates by age, gender, and occupational class. In M. A. Straus & R. J. Gelles (Eds.), Physical violence in American families (pp. 133-148). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.
40.
Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISCR). New York: Psychological Corporation.
41.
Wechsler, D. (1991). Manual for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—3rd edition (WISC-III). New York: Psychological Corporation.
42.
Wells, L. E. , & Rankin, J. H. (1988). Direct parental controls and delinquency. Criminology, 26, 263-285.
43.
Wilson, H. (1987). Parental supervision re-examined. British Journal of Criminology, 27, 275-301.
44.
Wootton, J. M. , Frick, P. J., Shelton, K. K., & Silverthorn, P. (1997). Ineffective parenting and childhood conduct problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 301-308.
