Observed Parenting and Children’s Coping Strategies: Cross-Sectional and Prospective Relations in the Context of a Family Group Cognitive Behavioral Intervention

Abstract

Relations among observed positive and negative parenting and children’s coping strategies were concurrently and prospectively examined in the context of an intervention study designed to change both parenting behaviors and children’s coping responses. Questionnaires and direct observations were obtained from parents with a history of major depressive disorder and their 9 to 15-year-old children (N = 101) at a baseline and 6-month follow-up assessment to measure children’s coping and observed positive and negative parenting. Observed baseline positive parenting and negative parenting were associated with children’s baseline primary control, secondary control, and disengagement coping strategies. Observed baseline positive parenting predicted changes in children’s primary control and secondary control coping from baseline to the 6-month follow-up. Observed baseline negative parenting approached significance in predicting changes in children’s primary control coping across time. Significant interactions were reported between the family condition and observed baseline parenting predicting changes in children’s coping from baseline to the 6-month assessment. The present findings are discussed, limitations are noted, and implications for future research are outlined.