THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL ATTRIBUTIONS ON PARENTING - AN EXPERIMENTAL-ANALYSIS

To address the direction of causality underlying the robust associatio n of mothers' attributions for child misbehavior and mothers' parentin g, mothers' child-centered responsibility attributions for their hard- to-manage toddlers' misbehavior were experimentally manipulated. Mothe rs and children were then videotaped interacting in typical but challe nging situations. Relative to mothers who were told that their childre n were not to blame for misbehaving, mothers who were told that their children would misbehave voluntarily and with negative intent were rat ed as significantly more overreactive in their discipline and felt ang rier; their children exhibited higher rates of negative affect. Theref ore, mothers' attributions for children's misbehavior can determine th e harshness of their discipline. Further research on attribution-focus ed interventions and their role in facilitating treatment response and maintenance in parenting programs is warranted.