Parenting style: A direct reaction to the child or a hidden function of stress and environment?

Context and relevance. Maternal parenting style is a key factor in child development, shaped by a complex interplay of behavioral, personal, and environmental determinants. Understanding the mechanisms of parental behavior requires a multilevel analysis in the context of modern social dynamics and urbanization. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on U. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model and A. Sameroff’s transactional approach, which describe the mutual influence of the child, the parent, and the environment. Objective: to comprehensively analyze the contribution of child behavior, maternal stress, and type of settlement to specific maternal parenting styles, manifested as positive, punitive, and inconsistent styles. Hypothesis. Prosocial child behavior positively predicts a positive parenting style, while problematic child behavior, maternal stress, and residence in a metropolis are positively associated with the use of punitive and inconsistent practices. Methods and materials. The study involved 840 mothers of preschool children from Moscow (n = 267) and small towns in Crimea (n = 573). The short version of the Perceived Stress Scale, the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were used. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Results. The contribution of child behavior to parenting styles was confirmed. Maternal stress made a significant additional contribution to punitive and inconsistent styles but did not affect the positive style. Contrary to the hypothesis, residence in a metropolis was associated with reduced expression of both positive and punitive styles. Conclusions. A differentiated nature of parenting styles has been identified: the inconsistent style is a direct consequence of maternal stress; the punitive style is formed under the combined influence of the child’s behavior and the mother’s stress; and the positive style is resistant to stress and closely related to the child’s prosocial behavior. The discovered paradoxical effect of the metropolis, which reduces the expression of polar parenting styles, is interpreted as a consequence of the mother’s emotional detachment due to increased fatigue, calling into question linear models of parental stress.

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