The relationship between parental childhood neglect and children’s behavioral problems: The mediating role of punitive responses and parent–child conflict

Background: Children’s behavioral problems have become a growing public health concern, affecting a significant number of school-aged children and leading to various negative outcomes. The impact of parents’ adverse childhood experiences on children’s behavioral problems has drawn significant attention. However, the mechanisms by which punitive responses and parent–child conflict operate within dyadic family relationships to influence children’s behavioral problems remain insufficiently understood. Objective: Grounded in the parental emotion socialization heuristic model, this study used dyadic family data to examine the intergenerational associations between parental childhood neglect and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, with particular attention to the roles of punitive emotion responses and parent–child conflict. Participants and Methods: A six-month longitudinal study was conducted, collecting data from 837 paired families in Shanghai, China. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data. Results: Parental punitive responses and parent–child conflict sequentially mediated the relationship between parental childhood neglect and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Maternal punitive responses significantly mediated the relationship between maternal childhood neglect and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, whereas no significant associations were found for paternal punitive responses. Conclusions: This study elucidates the mechanisms linking parents’ early adverse experiences to children’s behavioral adjustment. The findings highlight the critical role of mothers in children’s behavioral development and provide a theoretical foundation for family-level intervention practices.