Mother's childrearing history and current parenting: patterns of association and the moderating role of current life stress.

This study examined the association between positive and negative aspects of childrearing history and current parenting and the moderating effect of current stress. Seventy mother-child dyads participated in this study. Mothers provided retrospective reports of childrearing histories and current reports of life stress. Parenting was assessed via maternal self-report and observation. There was modest support for a direct association between positive childrearing experiences and more positive current parenting. Stress moderated the associations between both positive and negative childrearing experiences and current parenting: Stress exacerbated the negative effects of high-conflict histories whereas positive histories protected against the effects of current stress. This study highlights the importance of studying the influence of early experience on parenting within the context of current life stress.