Do Mothers And Fathers Agree? Examining Interparental Ratings of Youth Externalizing Behaviors among Ethnically Diverse Families

Author(s)

Areti Vassilopoulos, Yale University School of MedicineFollow
Christian DeLucia, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Cynthia Torres, Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2021

Publication Title

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Volume

77

Issue/Number

11

ISSN

1097-4679

Abstract/Excerpt

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the association between youth, parent, and family characteristics in mother-father agreement of youth externalizing behaviors among ethnically diverse families.

METHOD: Eighty-eight mother-father dyads of youth (44% Latino, 38% European-American, 17% African American) 6-16 years participated.

RESULTS: Overall associations between parent's reports of youth behavior problems were positively correlated. Significant predictors of parent difference scores in regression analyses included mother's depression scores (negatively), mother and father parenting stress scores (positively and negatively, respectively), and child's symptom severity (positively in the Inattention and Learning Problems models; negatively in the Defiance/Aggression model).

CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight the need for psychosocial screening of youth's parents during child psychological assessment to identify situations in which both parent reports are needed for youth assessment. Further, it contributes to the small literature base of discrepancies in parent reports in minority youth and expands upon the minimal research involving paternal caregivers.

DOI

10.1002/jclp.23200

PubMed ID

34214193

NSUWorks Citation

Vassilopoulos, A., DeLucia, C., Torres, C. (2021). Do Mothers And Fathers Agree? Examining Interparental Ratings of Youth Externalizing Behaviors among Ethnically Diverse Families. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(11).
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facarticles/1952