Chapter 2 38 within-family processes (Darling & Steinberg, 1993), it has been recognized that there is reciprocity (Pardini, 2008), operation at different timescales (e.g., Branje, 2018; Granic & Patterson, 2006), and heterogeneity (e.g., Belsky & Pluess, 2009) in these within-family parenting processes. Each of these theoretical concepts is explained in more detail below, as they are defining elements of the current review. Reciprocity in parenting processes It is acknowledged by several parenting theories that children are active agents in the within-family socialization processes (for an overview, see Pardini, 2008). As one of the first, Bell (1968) described a continuous cycle of influences between parents and children, wherein both keep adapting to each other’s behavior. Another well-known example is the coercion theory (Granic & Patterson, 2006; Patterson, 1982), which proposes a reciprocal cycle between maladaptive parenting and externalizing problem behavior. In this cycle, occurring at relatively short timescales, maladaptive parenting increases the externalizing problem behavior of the child, which in turn is followed by an increase in maladaptive parenting. If such feedback-patterns become stable negative cycles within a family, they could exacerbate the child’s externalizing problem behavior in the long-term. Hence, these theories suggest that parenting entails an ongoing dynamic process between parenting and adolescent adaptation, which flows not only from parents to their children, but also from the children to their parents. Timescale of parenting processes Parenting processes, as described before, can unfold at different timescales. The coercion theory (Granic & Patterson, 2006; Patterson, 1982), suggests that processes at the micro timescale influence the development at the macro timescale, such that momentary hostile parent-child interactions influence the child’s longer-term development of problem behavior (e.g., months or years). Conversely, macro-level development may also influence what happens at the every-day micro timescale (Granic & Patterson, 2006; Smith & Thelen, 2003). This mutual influence can be isomorphic when repeated micro-longitudinal effects translate to the gradual build-up of more persistent macro-longitudinal changes. However, effects can also be countervailing. For instance, prohibiting an adolescent from hanging out with friends on a given evening may effectively reduce adolescent delinquency that day. Nevertheless, through psychological processes of reactance (Brehm, 1966) the child may develop a more rebellious life style in the longer-term (e.g., Keijsers et al., 2012). Thus, although most parenting theories do not explicitly postulate the timescale on which
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