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Journal of Family Issues
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Parenting During Toddlerhood

Contributions of Parental, Contextual, and Child Characteristics

Marjolein Verhoeven

University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Marianne Junger

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Chantal Van Aken

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Maja Dekovic

Utrecht University, Netherlands

Marcel A. G. Van Aken

Utrecht University, Netherlands

The present study examines the contribution of parental, contextual, and child characteristics to parenting behavior during toddlerhood in 111 two-parent families with a 17-month-old son (M = 16.9 months, SD = 0.57). Parenting was conceptualized in terms of five dimensions: support, structure, positive discipline, psychological control, and physical punishment. In general, results indicate that the effects of parental, contextual, and child characteristics on parenting dimensions do not differ for mothers and fathers. The only uncovered difference concerns the effect of children's inhibitory control, which was significant for maternal but not for paternal support. For both mothers and fathers, support, structure, and the use of psychological control are mainly influenced by parental characteristics, whereas the use of positive discipline and physical punishment are best predicted by contextual characteristics. Overall, the contribution of child characteristics to parenting dimensions was moderate.

Key Words: maternal behavior • paternal behavior • parental characteristics • contextual characteristics • child characteristics

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This version was published on December 1, 2007

Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 28, No. 12, 1663-1691 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0192513X07302098
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