Parental Self-Control and the Development of Male Aggression in Early Childhood: A Longitudinal Test of Self-Control Theory

• Author: Marcel A. G. van Aken,Ryan C. Meldrum,Maja Deković,Marjolein Verhoeven,Marianne Junger
• Published date: 01 March 2018
• Date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16662921
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X16662921

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2018, Vol. 62(4) 935 –957

© The Author(s) 2016

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X16662921

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Article

Parental Self-Control

and the Development of

Male Aggression in Early

Childhood: A Longitudinal

Test of Self-Control Theory

Ryan C. Meldrum1, Marjolein Verhoeven2,

Marianne Junger3, Marcel A. G. van Aken2,

and Maja Deković2

Abstract

A number of studies have evaluated associations between parenting practices,

adolescent self-control, and adolescent antisocial behavior. Yet, few studies have

examined associations between these constructs in early childhood or examined the

extent to which both maternal and paternal self-control shapes them. To address

these gaps, the current study utilizes longitudinal data collected on a sample of

117 Dutch boys and their parents to investigate the across time interrelationships

between parental self-control, ineffective parenting, child self-control, and child

aggression. The results provide evidence of an indirect association between maternal

self-control and early childhood self-control through maternal ineffective parenting,

an indirect association between maternal ineffective parenting and early childhood

aggression through early childhood self-control, and an indirect association between

maternal self-control and early childhood aggression through both maternal

ineffective parenting and early childhood self-control. In contrast, paternal self-

control and paternal ineffective parenting were unrelated to child self-control and

child aggression. The implications and limitations of the study are discussed.

1Florida International University, Miami, USA

2Utrecht University, The Netherlands

3University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Corresponding Author:

Ryan C. Meldrum, Department of Criminal Justice, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St.,

PCA-364B, Miami, FL 33199, USA.

Email: rmeldrum@fiu.edu

662921IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X16662921International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyMeldrum et al.

research-article2016

936 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 62(4)

Keywords

parental self-control, parenting practices, child self-control, childhood aggression

Introduction

Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) self-control theory was formulated a full quarter

century ago, and in support of the primary claim of the theory, a large body of research

finds low self-control is correlated with delinquency, crime, and other forms of deviant

behavior (see de Ridder, Lensvelt-Mulders, Finkenauer, Stok, & Baumeister, 2012;

Duckworth & Kern, 2011; Pratt & Cullen, 2000). Given this, researchers have turned

attention to testing other aspects of the theory. Pertinent to the current focus, much

attention has been directed at investigating the social causes of self-control, including

school socialization (e.g., Turner, Piquero, & Pratt, 2005), neighborhood context (e.g.,

Gibson, Sullivan, Jones, & Piquero, 2010; Pratt, Turner, & Piquero, 2004), and peer

associations (e.g., Meldrum, Young, & Weerman, 2012). However, it is the question of

whether parental socialization is related to child and adolescent self-control that has

received the greatest amount of empirical scrutiny. On this matter, many, but not all,

studies provide supporting evidence (e.g., Botchkovar, Marshall, Rocque, & Posick,

2015; Cullen, Unnever, Wright, & Beaver, 2008; Hay, 2001; Perrone, Sullivan, Pratt,

& Margaryan, 2004; cf. Wright & Beaver, 2005). In addition, several studies find a

portion of the association between parenting practices and delinquent behavior is

mediated by self-control (e.g., Hay, 2001; Perrone et al., 2004; Simons, Simons, Chen,

Brody, & Lin, 2007; cf. Wright, Beaver, Delisi, & Vaughn, 2008).

Although valuable, the existing research in this area is limited in two important

ways. First, the majority of studies investigating associations between parenting prac-

tices, child self-control, and antisocial behavior have focused on the developmental

period of adolescence (see Cullen et al., 2008). Relatively little research testing self-

control theory has centered on how these processes operate during early childhood

(Barnes, Boutwell, Beaver, & Gibson, 2013), even though this is the developmental

period in which Gottfredson and Hirschi contend parenting should be consequential

for self-control. Second, Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) allude to the importance of

parental self-control for instilling self-control in children, but so far only a handful of

studies have investigated the role that parental self-control plays in shaping parenting

practices, child self-control, and antisocial behavior (e.g., Boutwell & Beaver, 2010;

Nofziger, 2008), leaving important questions unresolved.

In the current study, we seek to fill these two gaps in the literature by addressing

three research questions:

Research Question 1: Does the association between maternal and paternal self-

control and early childhood self-control in boys operate over time indirectly through

parenting practices?

Research Question 2: Does the association between parenting practices and early

childhood aggression in boys operate over time indirectly through early childhood

self-control?