Exploring the Associations between Child Temperament, Parenting Behaviours and Styles, and Early Childhood Social-Emotional and Behavioural Development

• Author / Creator

  Walker, Meghan A

• This dissertation contains three studies that contribute to the existing research by exploring the associations between child temperament, parenting, and early childhood social-emotional and behavioural development. The first study explores associations between child temperament, mothers’ and fathers’ observed parenting behaviours, and child anxiety problems in early childhood. The second study examines children’s temperament and mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles as predictors of early childhood anxiety problems. Lastly, the third study explores similarities and differences between parenting styles of Asian-Canadian and European-Canadian heritage parents, including the relationship between parenting styles and early childhood externalizing and internalizing problems. The results of these studies indicate that: 1) associations between observed parenting behaviours and children’s anxiety problems differ between mothers and fathers; 2) higher levels of a negative affectivity temperament significantly predicts child anxiety problems, and parenting style moderating effects differ between mothers and fathers; and 3) there are more similarities than differences between parenting styles reported by Asian-Canadian and European-Canadian heritage parents, and an authoritative parenting style predicts lower levels of both externalizing problems and internalizing problems for European-Canadian and Asian-Canadian heritage children. These results support examining temperament as a risk factor for the development of anxiety problems in early childhood, as well as the importance of including both mothers and fathers in research focused on early childhood social-emotional and behavioural problems in young children.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Parenting Styles
  • Parenting Behaviours
  • Anxiety
  • Early Childhood
  • Temperament

• Graduation date

  Fall 2023

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-htfh-wc11

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.