Parenting practices and child social adjustment: The mediating role of child perceptions of parents and peers

Due to significant risk associated with peer rejection, investigators have become interested in the factors that may contribute to the development of these socially maladaptive patterns. Research has documented the important role that parents play in the development of children's social competence with peers. Some studies have found that parenting practices have a direct effect shaping and supporting the social behavior and social problem-solving strategies of children. Recently, investigators have become interested in identifying indirect pathways between the parent and peer domains. One mechanism that has been proposed are children's relationship representations often measured as subjective appraisals or perceptions of relationship quality. Models have been proposed in which children's perceptions of parents and peers mediate the relation between parenting practices and child social adjustment.; The purpose of this study was to explore direct and indirect pathways of influence linking parenting practices, children's perceptions, and children's social adjustment in four domains (social behavior, social problem-solving, peer evaluation and treatment, social distress). Analyses examined whether these constructs differed in sub-groups of aggressive and rejected children. Assessments were drawn from a normative sample of fourth grade children. Mothers were asked to report on their own parenting practices and those of their partner along two dimensions: warm/support and hostile/control. Children's perceptions of their relationships with parents and peers were assessed along the same dimensions. Peer nomination techniques and individual interviews were used to assess children's social behavior and peer relations.; Parent reports of parenting practices were related to the "observable" aspects of children's social adjustment such as social behavior and treatment by peers. Internal or "subjective" aspects of children's social adjustment, such as social distress, were more strongly related to their perceptions of their parents and peers. Results supported a model in which children's perceptions of their relationships mediated the relation between parenting practices and children's social adjustment. Aggressive-rejected children received the most negative treatment from parents and peers. Compared to other sub-groups of children, aggressive-rejected children described their mothers and peers as the most hostile and controlling.