Title: Beyond SES: A strengths-focused SEM study of collaboration-focused parenting beliefs, interaction quality, and language outcomes
Abstract: Background: Identifying modifiable sources of variability in early interaction quality is critical to determining intervention need, developing effective caregiver coaching, and improving outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how parents’ parenting beliefs, locus-of-control (LoC) perceptions, and stress when the infant was one month old affect child language skills at 36 months via parent-child interaction quality at 24 months. Furthermore, we tested whether beliefs, LoC perceptions, and stress mediated the relationships between parent education level and interaction quality as well as child language.
Methods: We designed and tested a structural equation model using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Our sample included data from 180 parent–child dyads evenly distributed across income groups and matched for child expressive language at 36 months.
Results: We observed a significant, positive direct effect of collaboration-focused parenting beliefs on interaction quality, and indirect effect on child language outcomes. Collaboration-focused parenting beliefs mediated the relationship between parent education and interaction quality significantly. Mothers’ locus-of-control perceptions and stress did not play a mediating role between parent education and child outcomes.
Discussion: Dyads in which parents have more collaboration-focused parenting beliefs tend to exhibit higher-quality interaction and children tend to have stronger language skills. This has direct implications for identifying families who might benefit from caregiver coaching and for improving intervention effectiveness.
Investigator: Rebecca Alper, PhD
About the Lab: Research in the Language, Literacy, and Learning Lab focuses on improving the language, academic, and health outcomes of at-risk children through family-centered early language and literacy intervention.