Parental Beliefs about Problematic Social Behaviors in Early Childhood

To assess parents' beliefs about preschoolers' displays of aggression and social withdrawal and the extent to which their strategies for dealing with these behaviors can be predicted from beliefs and socioecological circumstances, 122 mothers and 67 fathers of 4-year-olds were presented with descriptions of hypothetical incidents of peer-directed aggression and social withdrawal, and were asked how they would feel if their child acted in the manner described, how they would explain the behavior, and what they would do about it. Data concerning stress and social support were also gathered. Aside from being concerned, mothers and fathers primarily felt negative about aggression and puzzled about social withdrawal. Transient states were considered the primary source of both behaviors. The modal strategies were moderate power for dealing with aggression and low power for social withdrawal. The choice of strategies for dealing with these behaviors was related to both beliefs and socioecological circumstances.