Parenting profiles and dimensions in relation to children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the ECHO program
16 affiliations
- 1Department of Psychology, The State University of New York at Cortland, Cortland, New York, United States of America
- 2Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, United States of America
- 3Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
- 4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Health and Community, Weill Neurosciences Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California, United States of America
- 5Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- 6Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- 7Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
- 8Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- 9Avera Research Institute, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States of America
- 10Department of Pediatrics, University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, Vermillion, South Dakota, United States of America
- 11Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, United States of America
- 12Department of Psychology and Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America
- 13Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America
- 14Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
- 15New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, United States of America
- 16Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
Abstract
Parenting behaviors play a critical role in children’s socioemotional development and risk for psychopathology. Prior research has relied on both variable- and person-centered approaches to examine links between parenting and children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, yet few studies have integrated these approaches within a single investigation. In the current study, we combined both approaches by first utilizing latent profile analyses to identify profiles of parenting practices across multiple dimensions. We then utilized path analyses to examine whether parenting profiles (person-centered) and individual parenting dimensions (variable-centered) were associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The sample included children participating in the ECHO Cohort (N = 2,752; 49% female; Mage = 9.90 years, range = 5–18). Three parenting profiles were identified: Higher Positive Parenting–Better Supervision, Lower Positive Parenting–Medium Supervision, and Medium Positive Parenting–Poorer Supervision. The three profiles differed in children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, with symptom levels increasing from Higher Positive – Better Supervision to Lower Positive – Medium Supervision, and highest in Medium Positive – Poorer Supervision. At the dimension level, positive parenting was negatively related to both internalizing and externalizing behaviors, whereas inconsistent discipline was positively related to both outcomes. Poor supervision was positively related to externalizing behaviors but was not associated with internalizing behaviors. Together, these findings advance theoretical models of the caregiving environment and its associations with child psychopathology risk, suggesting that interventions should target both specific dimensions and broader profiles of parenting practices.
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BibTeX
@article{xu2026parenting,
title = {{Parenting profiles and dimensions in relation to children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the ECHO program}},
author = {Xiaoye Xu and Lauren C. Shuffrey and Leslie D. Leve and Alexandra D. W. Sullivan and Nissa Towe-Goodman and Margaret M. Swingler and Jean A. Frazier and Isha Jalnapurkar and Sohye Kim and Alexis Hernandez and Amy J. Elliott and Qi Zhao and Daniel P. Keating and Greta N. Wilkening and Chiaying Wei and Cindy O. Trevino and Santiago Morales},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0356078},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356078},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Parenting profiles and dimensions in relation to children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the ECHO program
AU - Xiaoye Xu
AU - Lauren C. Shuffrey
AU - Leslie D. Leve
AU - Alexandra D. W. Sullivan
AU - Nissa Towe-Goodman
AU - Margaret M. Swingler
AU - Jean A. Frazier
AU - Isha Jalnapurkar
AU - Sohye Kim
AU - Alexis Hernandez
AU - Amy J. Elliott
AU - Qi Zhao
AU - Daniel P. Keating
AU - Greta N. Wilkening
AU - Chiaying Wei
AU - Cindy O. Trevino
AU - Santiago Morales
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0356078
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0356078
AB - Parenting behaviors play a critical role in children’s socioemotional development and risk for psychopathology. Prior research has relied on both variable- and person-centered approaches to examine links between parenting and children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, yet few studies have integrated these approaches within a single investigation. In the current study, we combined both approaches by first utilizing latent profile analyses to identify profiles of parenting practices across multiple dimensions. We then utilized path analyses to examine whether parenting profiles (person-centered) and individual parenting dimensions (variable-centered) were associated with children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors. The sample included children participating in the ECHO Cohort (N = 2,752; 49% female; Mage = 9.90 years, range = 5–18). Three parenting profiles were identified: Higher Positive Parenting–Better Supervision, Lower Positive Parenting–Medium Supervision, and Medium Positive Parenting–Poorer Supervision. The three profiles differed in children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors, with symptom levels increasing from Higher Positive – Better Supervision to Lower Positive – Medium Supervision, and highest in Medium Positive – Poorer Supervision. At the dimension level, positive parenting was negatively related to both internalizing and externalizing behaviors, whereas inconsistent discipline was positively related to both outcomes. Poor supervision was positively related to externalizing behaviors but was not associated with internalizing behaviors. Together, these findings advance theoretical models of the caregiving environment and its associations with child psychopathology risk, suggesting that interventions should target both specific dimensions and broader profiles of parenting practices.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -