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AbstractObjectiveIn this study, we examined African American, low‐income mothers' emotional reactivity and use of punishment in relation to determinants of parenting and children's behavior.BackgroundMore research is needed examining within‐group variation in parenting processes, including discipline, of African American parents. Parents' negative emotion may have implications for children's behavior independent of punishment as a disciplinary strategy.MethodParticipants were 157 African American, low‐income mothers and their 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children. Mothers responded verbally to a questionnaire and were observed interacting in their natural home environment. Direct and indirect relations were examined from three determinants of parenting (i.e., depression, household disorganization, child difficulty) to negative emotional reactivity, punishment, sensitivity, and children's behavior.ResultsDepressive symptoms, household disorganization, and child difficulty were associated with children's externalizing and internalizing behavior indirectly through negative emotional reactivity. Household disorganization predicted externalizing behavior through verbal punishment. Physical punishment was not related to children's behavior above and beyond negative emotional reactivity.ConclusionThis study supports the proposal that parents' ability to regulate negative emotional reactivity in stressful contexts may have important implications for parenting and children's development above and beyond punishment.ImplicationsIntervention and preventative parent education programs should consider adding components that help parents with emotion regulation during stressful parenting situations.

AbstractThe current study examined associations between mothers' behavioral profiles during mother‐child conflict interactions and their children's social skills. This person‐centered approach classified 181 mothers according to their levels of emotional responsiveness, intrusiveness, negativity, and engagement facilitation behaviors during an eight‐minute conflict discussion task with their child. Three distinct classes of mothers were identified using latent profile analysis: sensitive/engaged, moderately sensitive/engaged, and insensitive/disengaged. An analysis of covariance indicated that children of mothers in the sensitive/engaged group had significantly higher social skills than children of mothers in the moderately sensitive/engaged and insensitive/disengaged groups. Results suggest that mother‐child conflict interactions may benefit children's social development when mothers facilitate their children's participation in a highly sensitive manner.