Maternal Ambivalence about Overprotective Parenting during Early Childhood: Relations to Observed Parenting and Mother and Child Emotion-Based Characteristics

Abstract

Overprotective parenting behavior warrants attention as a construct relevant to parents with young children. Little is known about parents’ own evaluations of, or attitudes about, these behaviors. Ambivalent attitudes, reflecting a mix of positive and negative evaluations, may reflect different motivations than purely positive or negative attitudes for engaging in overprotective parenting. Understanding parent attitudes about overprotection in early childhood could augment theory on the development of overprotective parenting and the parent-child dynamics relevant to children’s outcomes. In a sample of 140 mothers and their 2-year-old children (39% female), the current study used a person-centered approach to identify a group of mothers expressing ambivalence (n = 72) about overprotective parenting, as well as groups expressing uniformly positive (n = 34) and uniformly negative (n = 19) attitudes. Methods included a variety of observational, behavioral, and survey approaches. Mothers characterized by ambivalence about overprotective parenting demonstrated as much overprotective behavior as those with positive attitudes about protective parenting. The ambivalent group had toddlers showing the highest level of temperamental risk for anxiety, whereas the positive group showed some evidence of being highest on maternal anxiety. Maternal ambivalence about overprotective parenting has implications for both the development of and interventions for child anxiety, given its relevance to overprotective parenting and mother and child characteristics related to risk.