Parenting and disruptive child behavior: A daily diary study during the Covid-19 pandemic

We examined how mothers’ daily parenting cognitions and behaviors implicated by different theoretical perspectives (i.e., relational, learning theory, and cognitive perspectives) associated in linear or nonlinear ways with disruptive child behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined levels of heterogeneity between families in these patterns and whether this heterogeneity could be explained by mother and child characteristics. Mothers of 150 children, 3–8 years; 48% girls; 68% (sub)clinical conduct problems, completed 14 daily assessments (N_assessments = 1,993). Multilevel models indicate significant associations with daily disruptive child behavior for each of the parenting indicators, except for lax discipline. Positive involvement—implicated by relational perspectives—had a consistent, negative cubic association across families. Other associations were quadratic (for parental self-efficacy) or linear (for positive reinforcement, harsh discipline, and nonviolent discipline) and differed between families. Parenting behaviors indicative of learning theory and cognitive perspectives appeared more important in families with more maternal and child mental health problems; learning theory perspectives appeared more important also in families with older children. Our findings indicate the importance of considering nonlinear patterns of parent–child interactions in the context of disruptive behavior, at least in times where families are under pandemic-related stress. The identified between-family variation could potentially provide guidance as to what parenting support is most likely to benefit different families.