Examining Correlates of Intrusive Parenting

Abstract

Intrusive parenting behavior is associated with a variety of poor child outcomes. Given this, it is important to understand predictors of negative parenting behavior so that we might identify parents who are at risk of exhibiting intrusive parenting behaviors. Current literature regarding intrusive parenting rarely investigates predictors of or pathways to the presentation of this particular form of parenting behavior. The current study aims to address this gap by examining potential predictors of intrusive parenting behavior: childhood maltreatment history and empathy toward one’s child. Further, we investigated parental empathy as a possible mediator in the relation between childhood maltreatment history and intrusive parenting behaviors. We found that there was no association between childhood maltreatment severity and levels of intrusiveness; there was no association between childhood maltreatment severity own-child empathy; there was no association between own-child empathy and levels of intrusiveness.