Daily Parental Responses To Disruptive Child Behavior: A Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract The goal of the present study was to identify patterns of daily disruptive child behavior and parental responses to this behavior, as well as investigate the occurrence of these patterns over 14 days. We examined daily parental reports on disruptive child behavior, harsh parental responses, and giving in to children’s demands from 156 families (M child age = 5.88; 47% girls) collected over 14 days (2,067 assessments). Using multilevel latent profile analyses, we identified four behavioral patterns. Most families alternated between days with less and days with more disruptive behavior and harshness. Giving in to children’s demands was rare in all families. Our findings indicate that in most families with elevated disruptive child behavior, behavioral patterns vary across days, with disruptive behavior and parental harshness, but not giving in to children’s demands, co-varying. Our findings also indicate how day-to-day stability varies between families.