The Contribution of Maternal and Paternal Self-Control to Child and Adolescent Self-Control: a Latent Class Analysis of Intergenerational Transmission

Purpose Recent research provides evidence of intergenerational continuity in selfcontrol. This body of research, however, can be advanced in several ways to enhance our understanding of this association. Methods We add to this literature by examining whether maternal and paternal selfcontrol, assessed during a child's infancy, is associated with latent classes of child selfcontrol based on assessments from eight waves of data spanning age 4 to age 15. Supplementary analyses were also performed using ordinary least squares regression to examine individual child self-control at each of the eight waves. Results The results indicate that higher maternal and paternal self-control is associated with latent class membership characterizing higher child self-control. Moreover, maternal and paternal self-control were found to be equally consequential for differentiating between a low self-control relative to a moderate self-control class, whereas maternal self-control was a slightly stronger predictor than paternal self-control for differentiating a low self-control relative to a high self-control class. Supplementary OLS models revealed that both maternal and paternal self-control were statistically significant predictors of child self-control at 54 months of age and provided relatively equal contributions. But, as the child ages, the influence of paternal self-control appears to decrease as compared to maternal self-control. Conclusions This study offers evidence that both maternal and paternal self-control are important for understanding the intergenerational continuity of self-control, but additional research with larger and more diverse samples is needed to better understand the relative importance of mothers and fathers for this continuity.