Parent Behaviors as Predictors of Child Appraisal and Coping

Abstract

Child appraisal and coping have been identified as significant risk or protective factors for youth psychopathology. However, there is a dearth of research examining how parenting behaviors may influence the development of these skills by forming a key context in which a child learns to manage stressors. The present study examined how observed parenting behaviors derived from a parent-child interaction task relate to higher levels of and greater growth in child appraisal (threat, positive) and coping (active, avoidant) across three years in middle childhood. We found that older children utilized less avoidant coping than younger children and maternal warmth predicted lower avoidant coping. These findings suggest parenting provides a context that might shape children’s utilization of maladaptive coping strategies such as avoidance and may be important for helping youth manage stressors to promote healthy outcomes.