Abstract
We investigated the role of parents’ and children’s religiosity in behavioral adjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Data were collected on 170 maltreated and 159 nonmaltreated children from low-income families (mean age = 10 years). We performed dyadic data analyses to examine unique contributions of parents’ and children’s religiosity and their interaction to predicting child internalizing and externalizing symptomatology. A four group structural equation modeling was used to test whether the structural relations among religiosity predictors and child outcomes differed by child maltreatment status and child gender. We found evidence of parent-child religiosity interaction suggesting that (1) parents’ frequent church attendance was related to lower levels of internalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low church attendance and (2) parents’ importance of faith was associated with lower levels of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among nonmaltreated children with low faith. The results suggest that independent effects of parents’ religiosity varied depending on children’s religiosity and parent-child relationship.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the teacher’s report form and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Bao, W. N., Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., & Conger, R. D. (1999). Perceived parental acceptance as a moderator of religious transmission among adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 362–374. doi:10.2307/353754.
Barnett, D., Manly, J. T., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In D. Cicchetti & S. Toth (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy: Advances in applied developmental psychology (pp. 7–73). Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing.
Bartkowski, J. P., & Wilcox, W. B. (2000). Conservative Protestant child discipline: The case of parental yelling. Social Forces, 79, 263–290. doi:10.2307/2675571.
Bartkowski, J. P., Xu, X., & Levin, M. L. (2008). Religion and child development: Evidence from the early childhood longitudinal study. Social Science Research, 37, 18–36. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.02.001.
Baumrind, D. (1995). Child maltreatment and optimal caregiving in social contexts. New York: Garland Publishing.
Bierman, A. (2005). The effects of childhood maltreatment on adult religiosity and spirituality: Rejecting God the father because of abusive fathers? Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 44, 349–359. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2005.00290.x.
Bolger, K. E., & Patterson, C. J. (2001). Pathways from child maltreatment to internalizing problems: Perceptions of control as mediators and moderators. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 913–940.
Bollen, K. A. (1989). Structural equations with latent variables. New York: Wiley.
Brody, G. H., & Flor, D. L. (1998). Maternal resources, parenting practices, and child competence in rural, single-parent African American families. Child Development, 69, 803–816.
Brody, G. H., Stoneman, Z., & Flor, D. L. (1996). Parental religiosity, family processes, and youth competence in rural two-parents African American Families. Developmental Psychology, 32, 696–706. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.32.4.696.
Caputo, R. K. (2004). Parent religiosity, family process, and adolescent outcomes. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 85, 495–510.
Carothers, S. S., Borkowski, J. G., Lefever, J. B., & Whitman, T. L. (2005). Religiosity and the socioemotional adjustment of adolescent mothers and their children. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 263–275. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.263.
Cicchetti, D. (1991). Fractures in the crystal: Developmental psychopathology and the emergence of self. Developmental Review, 11, 271–287. doi:10.1016/0273-2297(91)90014-F.
Cicchetti, D., & Manly, J. T. (1990). A personal perspective on conducting research with maltreating families: Problems and solutions. In I. Sigel & G. H. Brody (Eds.), Methods of family research: Biographies of research projects: Vol. 2. Clinical populations (pp. 87–133). Hillside, NJ: Erlbaum.
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (2001). The impact of child maltreatment and psychopathology on neuroendocrine functioning. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 783–804.
Cicchetti, D., & Toth, S. (2005). Child maltreatment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1, 409–438. doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144029.
Crawford, E., Wright, M. O., & Masten, A. S. (2006). Resilience and spirituality in youth. In E. Roehlkepartain, P. King, L. Wagner, & P. Benson (Eds.), The handbook of spiritual development in children and adolescence (pp. 355–370). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Crittenden, P. M. (1988). Relationships at risk. In J. Belsky & T. Nezworski (Eds.), Clinical maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 136–174). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Crittenden, P. M., & Ainsworth, M. (1989). Attachment and child abuse. In D. Cicchetti & V. Carlson (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 432–463). New York: Cambridge University Press.
D’Onofrio, B. M., Eaves, L. J., Murrelle, L., Maes, H. H., & Spilka, B. (1999). Understanding biological and social influences on religious affiliation, attitudes and behaviors: A behavior genetic perspective. Journal of Personality, 67, 953–984. doi:10.1111/1467-6494.00079.
Darlington, R. (1968). Multiple regression in psychological research and practice. Psychological Bulletin, 69, 161–182. doi:10.1037/h0025471.
Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1997). How the experience of early physical abuse leads children to become chronically aggressive. In D. Cicchetti & S. Toth (Eds.), Rochester symposium on developmental psychopathology: Vol. 8. The effects of trauma on the developmental process (pp. 263–268). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Finkelhor, D., Hotaling, G. T., Lewis, I. A., & Smith, C. (1989). Sexual abuse and its relationship to later sexual satisfaction, marital status, religion, and attitudes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4, 379–399. doi:10.1177/088626089004004001.
Flor, D. L., & Knapp, N. F. (2001). Transmission and transaction: Predicting adolescents’ internalization of parental religious values. Journal of Family Psychology, 15, 627–645. doi:10.1037/0893-3200.15.4.627.
George, L. K., Ellison, C. G., & Larson, D. B. (2002). Explaining the relationships between religious involvement and health. Psychological Inquiry, 13, 190–200. doi:10.1207/S15327965PLI1303_04.
Granqvist, P. (2002). Attachment and religiosity in adolescence: Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 260–270. doi:10.1177/0146167202282011.
Gunnoe, M. L., Hetherington, E. M., & Reiss, D. (1999). Parental religiosity, parenting style, and adolescent social responsibility. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 199–225. doi:10.1177/0272431699019002004.
Gunnoe, M. L., & Moore, K. A. (2002). Predictors of religiosity among youth aged 17–22: A longitudinal study of the national survey of children. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 41, 613–622. doi:10.1111/1468-5906.00141.
Hall, T. A. (1995). Spiritual effects of childhood sexual abuse in adult Christian women. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23, 129–134.
Hirschi, T., & Stark, R. (1969). Hellfire and delinquency. Social Problems, 17, 202–213. doi:10.1525/sp.1969.17.2.03a00050.
Kane, D., Cheston, S. E., & Greer, J. (1993). Perceptions of God by survivors of childhood sexual abuse: An exploratory study in an under-researched area. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 21, 228–237.
Keiley, M. K., Howe, T. R., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2001). The timing of child physical maltreatment: A cross-domain growth analysis of impact on adolescent externalizing and internalizing problems. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 891–912.
Kenny, D. A., Kashy, D. A., & Cook, W. L. (2006). Dyadic data analysis. New York: Guildford Press.
Kim, J. (2008). The protective effects of child and parent religiosity on maladjustment among maltreated and nonmaltreated children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 32, 711–720. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.09.011.
Koenig, L. B., McGue, M., Krueger, R. F., & Bouchard, T. J. (2005). Genetic and environmental influences on religiousness: Findings for retrospective and current religiousness ratings. Journal of Personality, 73, 471–488. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00316.x.
Lerner, R., & Galambos, N. (1998). Adolescent development: Challenges, and opportunities for research, programs and policies. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 413–446. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.413.
MacKinnon, D. P., Krull, J. L., & Lockwood, C. M. (2000). Equivalence of the mediation, confounding and suppression effect. Prevention Science, 1, 173–181. doi:10.1023/A:1026595011371.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Murray-Swank, A., & Murray-Swank, N. (2003). Religion and the sanctification of family relationships. Review of Religious Research, 44, 220–236. doi:10.2307/3512384.
Manly, J. T., Kim, J. E., Rogosch, F. A., & Cicchetti, D. (2001). Dimensions of child maltreatment and children’s adjustment: Contributions of developmental timing and subtype. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 759–782.
Marsiglia, F. F., Kulis, S., Nieri, T., & Parsai, M. (2005). God forbid! Substance use among religious and nonreligious youth. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75, 585–598. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.75.4.585.
McCullough, M. E., & Willoughby, B. L. B. (2009). Religion, self-regulation, and self-control. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 69–93. doi:10.1037/a0014213.
Miller, L. W., Warner, V., Wickramaratne, P., & Weissman, M. (1997). Religiosity and depression: Ten-year follow-up of depressed mothers and offspring. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1416–1425.
Myers, S. M. (1996). An interactive model of religiosity inheritance: The importance of family context. American Sociological Review, 61, 858–866. doi:10.2307/2096457.
Ozorak, E. W. (1989). Social and cognitive influences on the development of religious beliefs and commitment in adolescence. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 28, 448–463. doi:10.2307/1386576.
Pearce, L. D., & Axinn, W. G. (1998). The impact of family religious life on the quality of mother-child relations. American Sociological Review, 63, 810–828. doi:10.2307/2657503.
Pearce, L. D., & Haynie, D. L. (2004). Intergenerational religious dynamics and adolescent delinquency. Social Forces, 82, 1553–1572. doi:10.1353/sof.2004.0089.
Pearce, M. J., Jones, S. M., Schwab-Stone, M. E., & Ruchkin, V. (2003a). The protective effects of religiousness and parent involvement on the development of conduct problems among youth exposed to violence. Child Development, 74, 1682–1696. doi:10.1046/j.1467-8624.2003.00631.x.
Pearce, M. J., Little, T. D., & Perez, J. E. (2003b). Religiousness and depressive symptoms among adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 267–276. doi:10.1207/S15374424JCCP3202_12.
Regnerus, M. D. (2003a). Linked lives, faith, and behavior: Intergenerational religious influence on adolescent delinquency. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 189–203. doi:10.1111/1468-5906.00172.
Regnerus, M. D. (2003b). Religion and positive adolescent outcomes: A review of research and theory. Review of Religious Research, 44, 394–413. doi:10.2307/3512217.
Regnerus, M. D., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (2003). Staying on track in school: Religious influences in high- and low-risk settings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 633–649. doi:10.1046/j.1468-5906.2003.00208.x.
Schapman, A. M., & Inderbitzen-Nolan, H. M. (2002). The role of religious behaviour in adolescent depressive and anxious symptomatology. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 631–643. doi:10.1006/jado.2002.0510.
Smith, C. (2003). Theorizing religious effects among American adolescents. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 17–30. doi:10.1111/1468-5906.t01-1-00158.
Toth, S. L., & Cicchetti, D. (1996). Patterns of relatedness, depressive symptomatology, and perceived competence in maltreated children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 32–41. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.64.1.32.
Weigert, A. J., & Thomas, D. L. (1972). Parental support, control and adolescent religiosity: An extension of previous research. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 11, 389–393. doi:10.2307/1384679.
Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (1982). Vulnerable but invincible: A study of resilient children. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wilcox, W. B. (1998). Conservative Protestant childrearing: Authoritarian or authoritative? American Sociological Review, 63, 796–809. doi:10.2307/2657502.
Wilcox, W. B. (2002). Religion, convention, and paternal involvement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 780–792. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00780.x.
Wright, L. S., Frost, C. J., & Wisecarver, S. J. (1993). Church attendance, meaningfulness of religion, and depressive symptomatology among adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 22, 559–568. doi:10.1007/BF01537716.
Zielinski, D. S., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2006). Ecological influences on the sequelae of child maltreatment: A review of the literature. Child Maltreatment, 11, 49–62. doi:10.1177/1077559505283591.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, J., McCullough, M.E. & Cicchetti, D. Parents’ and Children’s Religiosity and Child Behavioral Adjustment Among Maltreated and Nonmaltreated Children. J Child Fam Stud 18, 594–605 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9262-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9262-1