Parent-child connectedness and school-related problem behaviors in middle childhood

Background: Family connectedness appears to be a powerful protective factor against adverse behaviors among children, but most research is limited to adolescents. We add to the literature by exploring associations between parent-child connectedness and school-related problem (SRP) behaviors in middle childhood.

Methods: The data are drawn from the National Survey of Children's Health, 2007. Inclusion criteria are children from ages 6-12 who attend public/private school, whose biological mothers are present. The dependent variable is SRP behaviors, defined as any time the school contacted the parent about a problem the child was having in school. The independent variable is quality of parent-child connectedness, measured through: emotional communication; attend child's events; share family meals; met child's friends; child's time alone.

Results: Separate analyses are conducted for children 6-9 years, and 10-12 years. Multivariate logistic regression models are estimated for any SRP. Results are presented as ‘marginal effects'. Connectedness dimensions of not sharing ideas well, not attending events, and not meeting friends are significantly associated with any SRP for both younger (ME: 0.550, 0.296, 0.119, respectively; p<.05) and older (ME: 0.075, 0.440, 0.057, respectively; p<.05) children. For those with a SRP, linear models are estimated for the frequency of SRPs. Mothers who don't share ideas well with the child list an average of 10.46 more SRPs for younger (p<.05) and 0.80 more for older (p<.05) children.

Conclusion: This study establishes associations between certain mother-child connectedness factors and SRPs among children. It suggests efforts to maintain mother-child connectedness may protect children against problem behaviors.