The effect of maternal parenting behavior patterns on child externalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from latent profile analysis

Although parenting behavior patterns have attracted the interest of many researchers, there is a lack of a comprehensive description of Chinese maternal parenting behavior patterns. The current study included thirteen micro-dimensions of parenting behavior as indicators and used a person-centered approach to comprehensively describe the characteristics of parenting behavior patterns and further explore which parenting behavior patterns were conducive to weakening the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child externalized symptoms. A total of 2,417 Chinese mothers participated in the study, with children aged 20.17 months ( SD = 4.16). Participants completed the Chinese versions of questionnaires regarding parenting behavior and child externalizing symptoms. The results identified four distinct parenting behavior patterns, which were associated with different levels of child externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction effect between parenting behavior patterns and the COVID-19 pandemic dynamic on child externalizing symptoms. Specifically, children with disengaged parenting behavior patterns were more vulnerable to externalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic than before. These findings contribute to the design of effective interventions to improve the quality of parenting and promote positive child development.