Benevolent Childhood Experiences And Parenting In The Context Of Homelessness

Abstract

Despite the decades of research on the importance of childhood experiences for parenting practices, there is little evidence on the role of positive childhood experiences for parenting practices especially in circumstances marked by adversity such as the context of homelessness. Using the Benevolent Childhood Experiences (BCEs) scale, the present study examined the association between BCEs with two measures of parenting including a subjective report of perceived parenting effectiveness and an independent measure of observed parenting practices. It was hypothesized that BCEs would be associated with both perceived and observed effective parenting practices and buffer the association between childhood adversity and each measure of parenting. An exploratory analysis examined the developmental timing of BCEs in association with both measures of parenting. Participants included 122 caregivers experiencing homelessness (M = 31.2 years, SD = 7.7, range = 21 – 62; 71.9% African American, 10.7% white, 7.4% Native American or Alaska Native, 5.8% multiracial, 4.1% reported other). Caregivers reported on their negative childhood lifetime events (LTE), BCEs, perceived parenting effectiveness, and demographics. They also participated in structured parent-child interaction tasks, which were coded by trained raters to generate a measure of observed effective parenting. The results indicated that higher BCEs were associated with perceived, but not observed, parenting effectiveness. BCEs did not buffer the association between negative childhood LTE and either measure of parenting. Results from the exploratory analysis revealed that higher BCEs endorsed in adolescence, but not early to middle childhood, were associated with perceived parenting effectiveness. These findings highlight important areas for future investigation to advance the research on BCEs in addition to opportunities for intervention to support caregivers and their capacity to parent in the context of homelessness.