Kids’ aggression appears to shape parents’ discipline more than the reverse, study finds
Inconsistent discipline is often blamed for aggressive behavior in children. But a study of Norwegian extended families and U.S. adoptive families suggests the arrow may point the other way: aggressive children may make parents less consistent.
A new study published in Nature Communications suggests that children's aggressive behavior may drive inconsistent parenting practices, rather than the reverse. Researchers led by Joanna K. Bright of King's College London used genetic and family data from Norway and the United States to analyze the relationship between parenting styles and childhood aggression.
In Norway, about 47% of the association between inconsistent discipline and child aggression was attributed to shared genetic factors, with the remaining 53% remaining after accounting for genetic transmission. The adoption study showed a similar pattern: children's aggression predicted more inconsistent discipline at later ages, while paths from mothers' discipline to children's aggression were not statistically significant.
The authors concluded that "childhood aggression drives inconsistent parenting beyond shared genetic influences." While fathers' reports in the adoption study indicated a bidirectional relationship between inconsistent discipline and child aggression at the same point, no significant links emerged when one parent's report of child aggression was paired with the other parent's report of parenting.
The study highlights the importance of recognizing that childhood aggression can contribute to inconsistent discipline, and suggests that interventions focused solely on encouraging consistent discipline may be insufficient.
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