Child problem behavior in the early family environment: Unraveling the role of maternal and paternal harsh parenting

The period of early childhood lays an important foundation for children’s emotional and behavioral development (Campbell, 2006). In the first six years, children develop a set of abilities for monitoring and regulating their attention, emotions, and behavior, which allows them to act upon desires and to meet demands in their environment (Bronson, 2001; Posner & Rothbart, 2000). However, not all children develop such self-regulatory abilities equally well, and if these abilities are compromised, children may experience emotional and behavioral difficulties (Campbell, 2006; Mesman et al., 2001). In fact, up to one in three elementary school children from community samples may be at higher risk for emotional or behavioral problems (Danielson et al., 2021) and between the ages of five and six, up to 30% of children are involved in peer bullying at school (Jansen et al., 2012b; Perren & Alsaker, 2006). This is alarming, as such difficulties, which I label as ‘child problem behavior’, can also increase the risk for psychiatric disorders later in life (Grieshaber et al., 2023; Hofstra et al., 2000). [...]