Comportamenti di internalizzazione ed esternalizzazione nei bambini: il ruolo dello stress materno e degli stili educativi

Background: Research shows that high levels of parenting stress cause child maladjustment. However, many questions are still left unexplored as for the process by which parental stress influences child adjustment. Current debate put forward whether stress plays a direct role or a mediated role by child-rearing practices. This study aims to further verify whether maternal stress has a direct impact or an impact mediated by child-rearing practices on the development of internalizing and externalizing behaviours in children. Methods: Eighty-two mothers of school-age children were administered the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form to evaluate their level of parental stress, the Parenting Practices Questionnaire to measure their childrearing practices and the Child Behaviour Checklist to evaluate their children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviours. The hypothesis of the study was verified by a mediation model of regression (Baron and Kenny, 1986). The predictors were the three PSI-SF parenting dimensions (parental distress, parent-child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child), the mediating variables were the three parenting styles (authoritarian, authoritative and permissive) and the outcome were the internalizing and externalizing behaviours. Results: Results showed a direct relationship between parenting stress and children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviours. In particular, internalizing behaviours were predicted by the parent-child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child factors of parenting stress. For externalizing behaviours, the direct effect emerges for both on the PSI subscale difficult child and for the permissive parenting practice.