The relationship between preschoolers’ temperament and externalizing problem behaviors: Testing moderated moderation effect of parenting and supportive coparenting

The purpose of this study was to examine the moderating effect of parental parenting behavior and supportive parental co-parenting on the process of infant temperament affecting externalizing problem behavior. For this purpose, 232 infants (118 boys, 114 girls) and their parents from 10 early childhood education institutions in D Metro city were studied. As a result, some moderated moderation effects were confirmed. Specifically, negative emotionality of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but mothers' controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and as mothers' supportive coparenting increased, this buffering effect decreased. In addition, the preschoolers’ extrovertion temperament reduced the externalizing problem behavior, but the mother's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreased as the mother's supportive coparenting increased. Effortful control of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but mothers' compassionate parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreased as mothers' supportive coparenting increased. Next, the extrovertion temperament of preschoolers reduces externalizing problem behaviors, but the father's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and the buffering effect decreases as the father's supportive coparenting increased. In addition, the effortful control of preschoolers reduced externalizing problem behaviors, but the father's controlling parenting buffered this tendency, and as the father's supportive coparenting increased, this buffering effect decreased. In this regard, the direction of effective parent education was discussed.