The impact of infant temperament, responsiveness and maternal childrearing practices on children externalizing behavior problems and social competence / O impacto do temperamento infantil, da responsividade e das práticas educativas maternas nos problemas de externalização e na competência social da criança

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the impact of children temperament, maternal responsiveness and maternal childrearing practices on children externalizing behavior problems and social competence. The study involved 23 child-mother dyads from different socio-economical backgrounds. In the baby's third month after birth, child temperament and maternal responsiveness were evaluated. In the child's thirteenth month after birth, maternal childrearing practices, externalizing behavior problems and child social competence were investigated. Multiple regression analysis revealed that only maternal childrearing practices were significant to explain the variance in the externalizing behaviors and social competence. The work discusses the relevance of parental practices and the limitations of the evaluation of temperament and maternal responsiveness as predictors for the comprehension of social development.

Keywords

• Temperament
• responsiveness
• childrearing practices