The purpose of this study is to validate the hypothetical path model of maternal childhood attachment, emotions, parenting behaviors, and child behavioral problems; the theory of this study is based on Bowlby's ‘internal working model’ and Belsky'...
The purpose of this study is to validate the hypothetical path model of maternal childhood attachment, emotions, parenting behaviors, and child behavioral problems; the theory of this study is based on Bowlby's ‘internal working model’ and Belsky's ‘process model’.
The hypothetical path model is fixed on maternal variables that are considered to have influence on internalizing and externalizing behavioral
problems of children. The subordinate variables of childhood maternal attachment are also fixed on the attachment to fathers and on the attachment to mothers; The subordinate variables of maternal emotions include self-esteem, depression, and anxiety; The subordinate variables of maternal parenting behaviors include over-protection and authoritarian control.
The purposes of this study are as follows:
1) To examine differences between behavioral problem groups and behavioral non-problem groups related to maternal childhood attachment, emotions, and parenting behaviors.
2) To examine direct-indirect influences on children's behavioral problems by means of analyzing the hypothetical path model of maternal childhood attachment that could lead to emotions, parenting behaviors, and children's behavioral problems, and how maternal emotions and parenting behaviors mediate in the process.
The research was conducted with 240 sets of mothers and their children: 70 mother-child couples who sought advice for their problems such as emotion, sociality, behavior, etc. in seven counseling organizations of Children's Counseling Clinic, Community Social Welfare Service Center, and Welfare Sevice Center for the Disabled in Seoul, Incheon, and Pyeongtaik, and with 170 elementary school children, from 1st graders to 6th graders, each with their mothers in Seoul. After collecting 215 responses out of 240(90%), 15 non-cooperative couples in their response to the questionnaire were disregarded. Consequently, a total of 200 mother-child couples were selected for this study.
The materials of this study were analyzed with SPSS 12.0 program and LISREL 8.3 program. Methods such as frequency analysis, technical statistics analysis, chi-square test, Cronbach's α, t-test, standard multiple regressions analysis, Pearson's correlations, and LISREL 8.3 program were employed in the process by means of structural equation modeling analysis.
The results of this study are as follows:
1) Differences between behavioral problem groups and behavioral non-problem groups related to maternal childhood attachment, emotions, and parenting behaviors
First, with regard to maternal childhood attachment, emotions, and parenting behaviors, when compared with total behavioral problem groups, behavioral non-problem groups showed higher average points in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, and self-esteem; low average points in depression, anxiety, over-protection, and authoritarian control.
The result of t-test came out with significant differences in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and over-protection. In contrast, no significant differences were noted in parenting behaviors of authoritarian control.
Second, with regard to maternal childhood attachment, emotions, and parenting behaviors, when compared internalizing problem groups with behavioral non-problem groups, the latter showed higher average points in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, and self-esteem; low average points in depression, anxiety, over-protection, and authoritarian control.
The result of t-test came out with significant differences in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and over-protection. In contrast, no significant differences were noted in parenting behaviors of authoritarian control.
Third, with regard to maternal childhood attachment, emotions, and parenting behaviors, when compared externalizing problem groups with behavioral non-problem groups, the latter showed higher average points in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, and self-esteem; low average points in depression, anxiety, over-protection, and authoritarian control.
The result of t-test came out with significant differences in paternal attachment, maternal attachment, self-esteem, and anxiety. In contrast, no significant differences were noted in depression, oveprotection, and authoritarian control.
2) Examination of the path model between maternal childhood attachment, emotions and parenting behaviors, and children's behavioral problems
In the study, exogenous latent variables were adopted for maternal childhood attachment; endogenous latent variables were adopted for maternal emotions, parenting behaviors, and children's behavioral problems. Also included in the study is a modification model added with theoretically and statistically significant path, with an exception of the path that is not significant in the hypothetical model. In order to validate the authenticity of the modification model, a GFI(goodness-of-fit index) validity examination was carried out to obtain a result of high GFI in most cases. Consequently, the modification model was selected for maternal childhood attachment, emotions, parenting behaviors and children's behavioral problems.
As a result, it is noted that maternal emotions and parenting behaviors mediate in the path of maternal childhood attachment to children's behavioral problems. Details of the direct and indirect effects among variables are as follows:
First, examining the path of paternal attachment and the internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, it is noted that paternal attachment has no direct effect on the internalizing and externalizing problems.
Paternal attachment, however, has indirect effect of anxiety and over-protection on the path to the internalizing problems, and indirect effect of anxiety; also noted is that there is a full-mediation of anxiety and over-protection between paternal attachment and internalizing problems.
Also, paternal attachment has indirect effect of anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control on the path to the externalizing problems, and indirect effect of anxiety; also noted is that there is a full-mediation of anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control between paternal attachment and externalizing problems.
Second, examining the path of maternal attachment and the internalizing problems, it is noted that maternal attachment has direct effect on the internalizing problems.
Maternal attachment has indirect effect of self-esteem, depression, anxiety and over-protection on the path, and indirect effect of self-esteem, anxiety and over-protection. Also, with the indirect effect of depression, anxiety and over-protection, it is noted that there is a partial-mediation of self-esteem, depression, anxiety and over-protection between maternal attachment and internalizing problems.
Third, examining the path of maternal attachment and the externalizing problems, it is noted that maternal attachment has direct effect on the externalizing problems and on the path to the externalizing problems, maternal attachment has indirect effect of depression, indirect effect of self-esteem and authoritarian control, indirect effect of self-esteem and depression, and indirect effect of depression and authoritarian control. Also noted are indirect effect of self-esteem, anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control, indirect effect of depression, anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control; and indirect effect of self-esteem, depression, anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control. Therefore, it is noted that there is a partial-mediation of self-esteem, depression, anxiety, over-protection and authoritarian control between maternal attachment and externalizing problems.