Externalizing Behaviors of Ukrainian Children: Role of Parenting

Background and Purpose: Parenting is a primary socio-emotional environment steering children’s socialization. Such parenting practices as poor monitoring, corporal punishment and rejection may increase child externalizing behavior problems, including aggression, delinquency and attention problems (Gershoff, 2013). We aimed to explore relationship between child externalizing problems and parenting practices in Ukraine. We hypothesized that child externalizing behavior will be associated with child’s male gender and younger age, younger parent age and lower education, lower scores on positive parenting, involvement, non-physical disciplining, and higher scores on corporal punishment, poor monitoring and inconsistent parenting.

Methods:We used cross-sectional, community-based sample of 320 dyads of parents (92% mothers) and their children aged 9-16 (40 children in each year of age, 50% girls) from three Ukrainian regions. Ukrainian school psychologists interviewed participants during summer 2013. Mean age of parents (92% Ukrainians) was 37.76 years (SD = 6.60). Parents completed 11 grades of school or less (19%), vocational training (49%), few years of college (6%) and had university degree (26%). Sixty percent were married or lived with partner and had average monthly household income of $405.00.

Parents answered questions from Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (Frick et al., 1999) on six dimensions of parenting, including involvement, non-physical disciplining, positive parenting, corporal punishment, poor monitoring, and inconsistent parenting, and Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1991). Parents also reported on their age, level of education, national identity, and child’s age and gender. Robust multiple regression was used to predict broad-band externalizing behavior scale consisting of aggression, delinquency and attention problems. Parent and child sociodemographic variables and parenting practices were treated as predictors.

Results: Child externalizing problems had significant relationship with child’s male gender (B=.10, t(295)=2.07, ρ<.05) and younger age (B=-.11, t(295)=-2.23, ρ<.05), lower parent education (B=-.11, t(295)=-2.28 ρ<.05), use of corporal punishment (B=.23, t(295)=3.19, ρ<.01) and poor monitoring (B=.29, t(295)=4.94 ρ<.001). Parent age, use of non-physical disciplining, involvement, inconsistent parenting and positive parenting were not significant predictors. This model explained 41% of variance in child externalizing behaviors: R²=.41, F(10, 285)=17.88, ρ<.001.

Implications: These results suggest that child’s male gender and lower parent education are significant risk factors for development of externalizing behavior problems in Ukrainian children. Furthermore, negative parenting practices, including use of corporal punishment and poor monitoring may lead to increased aggression, delinquency and attention problems. Although generalizability of this study is limited by its cross-sectional design and convenience sample, these results are consistent with earlier findings in the U.S. (Tolan, Dodge, & Rutter, 2013). Understanding of impact of lower education and poor child supervision on development of child externalizing behavior problems is critical for social work prevention, treatment programs and policy. Furthermore, these findings stress that physical disciplining is not helpful and may be harmful to children also in the Ukrainian context and may be one of the important mechanisms behind intergenerational transmission of aggressive and disruptive behaviors.