The Moderating Influence of Children’s Beliefs and Sympathy on the Longitudinal Association Between Parenting and Relational Aggression

A large body of research indicates that relational aggression is associated with poor social adjustment, both concurrently and longitudinally. Parents may play an important role in the development of children’s prosocial behavior and perpetration of relational aggression indirectly by serving as a model for interactions with others as well as directly by monitoring and reinforcing behaviors. However, most of the research exploring parental influences on aggression is focused on overt aggression rather than relational aggression. To increase the effectiveness of violence prevention programs, there is a need for a greater understanding of how parenting may influence children’s relational aggression. The present study aimed to 1) examine the association between parenting practices and subsequent relational aggression; and 2) to explore the extent to which the association between parenting practices and relational aggression was moderated by a child’s normative beliefs about aggression and sympathy. Participants were 323 students in third (46%), fourth (33%), and fifth (21%) grade in two urban elementary schools who completed surveys in the fall and spring of the school year. The sample was 50% female and 94% African American. Positive parenting and parent-teacher involvement were significantly negatively associated with subsequent relational aggression (β = -.22, p = .01 and β = -.27, p < .001; respectively). There was no association between parental monitoring and subsequent relational aggression. Interestingly, normative beliefs about aggression significantly moderated the associations between parent-teacher involvement and positive parenting and subsequent relational aggression (β = .23, p = .01 and β = -.1.30, p = .02; respectively). Similarly, child-reported sympathy moderated the associations between parent-teacher involvement and positive parenting and subsequent relational aggression (β = -.1.30, p = .02; β = -.43, p < .001; respectively). Overall, the findings indicated that parenting practices are significantly associated with children’s subsequent relationally aggressive behavior. Promoting parental practices that emphasize reinforcement over punishment and promoting regular communications between parents and teachers may help to prevent or reduce children’s aggression. However, it will likely be important to simultaneously address individual-level characteristics such as children’s beliefs about aggression and sympathy for others.