Cited by 71Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentAttachment and Relationship DynamicsFamily Dynamics and Relationships

Maternal history of parentification, maternal warm responsiveness, and children’s externalizing behavior

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Nuttall, Amy K., Valentino, Kristin, Borkowski, John G.·2012·Journal of Family Psychology

Abstract

Destructive parentification occurs when children are expected to provide instrumental or emotional caregiving within the family system that overtaxes their developmental capacity. According to parentification theory, destructive parentification in family of origin poses a risk to child development in subsequent generations; however, there is a paucity of empirical research examining the impact of a maternal history of destructive parentification on parenting quality and child outcomes in subsequent generations. The present study examined the potential risk of maternal history of parentification on child adjustment by hypothesizing that a maternal history of parentification in family of origin would have a negative impact on quality of maternal warm responsiveness at 18 months of age which would, in turn, be associated with increased children's externalizing symptoms at 36 months. Results indicated that there was a significant indirect effect of maternal history of destructive parentification in family of origin on child externalizing behavior in the next generation through maternal warm responsiveness, supporting the hypothesized model. This finding suggests that facilitating the development of maternal contingent responsiveness among mothers with a history of destructive parentification may promote more adaptive child development in the next generation.

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  • Parentification as an overall construct was positively linked with externalizing problems in four studies, yet an almost equal number of studies (n = 3) found null results.

    “Parentification as an overall construct was positively linked with externalizing problems in four studies [77,82,95,104], yet an almost equal number of studies (n = 3) found null results [76,113,161].”

    From Parentification Vulnerability, Reactivity, Resilience, and Thriving: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review (2023) · cites this paper as [82]

    The Results (page unavailable) report a positive indirect association between mothers’ history of destructive parentification and their children’s externalizing behavior, through reduced maternal responsiveness. The direct effect was not significant (B=.03, p=.52). Thus, this study supports a more specific intergenerational, indirect link, not an unqualified positive link between parentification as an overall construct and externalizing problems. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Among a high-risk community sample of first-time mothers, maternal history of destructive parentification had an indirect effect on child externalizing behavior through warmth and responsiveness.

    “among a high-risk community sample of first-time mothers, maternal history of destructive parentification had an indirect effect on child externalizing behavior through warmth and responsiveness”

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Authors
Nuttall, A. K., Valentino, K., & Borkowski, J. G.
Affiliations
University of Notre Dame (US)
Venue
Journal of Family Psychology
Published
2012
Volume
26
Issue
5
Pages
767-775
ISSN
  • 0893-3200 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1293
OpenAlex
W1985007724
Cited by
70
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 1
FWCI
2.18
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Family Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD-39456)
  • Centers for Disease Control
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • Department of Education
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (037224)
  • Centers for the Prevention of Child Neglect
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
child externalizing problems, intergenerational transmission, family of origin, maternal care, child adjustment, parenting quality
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Maternal Behavior, Mother-Child Relations, Mothers, Pregnancy, Prospective Studies, Parenting, Young Adult

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