Longitudinal Associations Between Parenting and Child Behaviour Problems and the Moderating Effect of Child Callous Unemotional Traits in Foster and Biological Families

The goals of the current study were to examine (i) differences in parenting between foster and biological parents, (ii) the longitudinal associations with children’s internalising and externalising problems and iii) the potential moderation of these by children’s callous-unemotional traits (CU traits). Data from 86 foster children (M = 4.44 years, male = 48%) and 148 biological children (M = 3.69 years, male = 49%) with their families were analysed in a longitudinal study with three measurement times. Parenting behaviour did not significantly differ between the foster and biological family groups. Significant longitudinal cross-lagged effects were found for parental warmth and support and children’s externalising problems. CU traits moderated the relationship between warmth and support and externalising problems of children. Findings suggest that parenting behaviours and child psychopathology do influence each other over time reciprocally and to a similar extent in both groups. However, there was also evidence for greater temporal stability of psychopathological symptoms and reduced responsivity to parental warmth in children with higher CU traits.