Antisocial attitude and aggressive behavior among immigrant children: The moderating effects of parent-child relationships

Guided by the ecological framework, this study explored 1) the effect of antisocial attitude as a risk factor on aggressive behavior and 2) how a maternal- or paternal-child relationship buffers the impact of antisocial attitude in predicting aggressive behavior among children attending elementary school. A convenience sampling strategy was utilized to recruit 136 immigrant children (female 54.8%, Hispanic and Latino 80.9%) attending schools in one school district in the Southwestern United States. The results showed that the effect of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior varied depending on the children’s relationships with their parents. A close relationship with their mother mitigated the effect of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior. Also, if the child had a positive relationship with both parents, the impact of antisocial attitude on aggressive behavior decreased. Thus, immigrant children who had a close relationship with both parents were less likely to have aggressive behavior. These results indicate that there is a benefit when children have close relationships with their parents in reducing problem behaviors.