Date of Award:

5-2016

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Advisor/Chair:

Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez

Abstract

There is an abundance of literature examining parent-child relationships, and subsequently, parenting interventions that address these. The purpose of this study was to examine if positive and negative parental behaviors predicted externalizing behaviors in children. The following questions were addressed: (a) What are the types of positive interactions that Latinos parents engage in with their children? (b) Does a ratio of intervals of positive to intervals of negative parent behaviors predict externalizing behaviors in children among Latinos? (c) Do proportions of intervals of positive and/or negative behaviors predict a greater percentage of variance in child outcomes than does a ratio of intervals of behaviors in Latino families? Participants included 49 two-parent families with at least one child between the ages of 6 and 11. All participants were living in Puerto Rico at the time of the study and primarily spoke Spanish. Video recordings of parents interacting with their children in a variety of structured and unstructured tasks were reviewed, and 10 s intervals were coded as either negative (-), negative (+), positive or neutral. Results revealed (a) Latino parents engage in a variety of behaviors with their children, (b) a ratio of intervals of behaviors did not statistically significantly predict externalizing behaviors in Latino children, and (c) proportion of intervals of behaviors also did not statistically significantly predict externalizing behaviors in Latino children. In order to continue to inform culturally appropriate parenting interventions, it is imperative that more observational research be conducted with various cultures. It is important to look at the types of behaviors that parents from various cultures engage in with their children to inform adaptations of parenting interventions. The current study examined exclusively parents, however, future studied might also address extended family member, and teacher behaviors and interactions as well.

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