MATERNAL FACTORS RELATED TO PARENTING PRACTICES, DEVELOPMENTAL EXPECTATIONS, AND PERCEPTIONS OF CHILD-BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS

Parenting practices of a representative sample of 1,056 urban mothers with very young children were studied via the Parent Behavior Checklis t(Fox, 1994) and the Behavior Screening Questionnaire (Richman & Graha m, 1971). Potential determinants of parenting practices were also addr essed, including maternal age, marital status, education level, number of children living at home, and family socioeconomic status. Less pos itive parenting practices concerning nurturing and discipline were fou nd among mothers who were younger, had more than one child living at h ome, were single, had a lower income level, and had lower educational attainment. These mothers also tended to perceive their children as de monstrating more difficult behavior problems. However, the negative in fluence of some determinants of parenting practices, such as low incom e, was found to be moderated by the presence of other determinants, su ch as more education. The present results provide evidence that multip le determinants influence parenting practices among parents of young c hildren.