Abstract
Parental tolerance has been defined as the degree to which a parent tends to be annoyed by his or her child’s disruptive behavior.
The purpose of the current study is to examine the relation of both parent and child gender to parental tolerance of child
disruptive behaviors. Participants were 150 parents with 3–6 year-old at-risk children (47.5 % girls) who sought help with
parenting of their child’s oppositional defiant behaviors. Tolerance was measured by the difference between parent ratings
of intensity on 36 disruptive behaviors and whether each behavior was identified as a problem (resulting in a score of either
high, expected, or low tolerance). A 2 (child gender) by 2 (parent gender) analysis of variance was conducted on the tolerance
score. A significant interaction between child and parent gender emerged: Mothers were equally tolerant of boys’ and girls’
oppositional defiant behavior but fathers were more tolerant of boys’ than girls’ oppositional behavior. Exploratory analyses
suggested that this interaction may be qualified by clinical status of the child. Implications and future directions are discussed.
The purpose of the current study is to examine the relation of both parent and child gender to parental tolerance of child
disruptive behaviors. Participants were 150 parents with 3–6 year-old at-risk children (47.5 % girls) who sought help with
parenting of their child’s oppositional defiant behaviors. Tolerance was measured by the difference between parent ratings
of intensity on 36 disruptive behaviors and whether each behavior was identified as a problem (resulting in a score of either
high, expected, or low tolerance). A 2 (child gender) by 2 (parent gender) analysis of variance was conducted on the tolerance
score. A significant interaction between child and parent gender emerged: Mothers were equally tolerant of boys’ and girls’
oppositional defiant behavior but fathers were more tolerant of boys’ than girls’ oppositional behavior. Exploratory analyses
suggested that this interaction may be qualified by clinical status of the child. Implications and future directions are discussed.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-7
- DOI 10.1007/s10826-012-9632-y
- Authors
- Anna W. Wright, Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
- Justin Parent, Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
- Rex Forehand, Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA
- Mark C. Edwards, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA
- Nicola A. Conners-Burrow, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA
- Nicholas Long, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA
- Journal Journal of Child and Family Studies
- Online ISSN 1573-2843
- Print ISSN 1062-1024