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Abstract Disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) are common in childhood and adolescence, with global estimates of 5.7%. While parenting practices are associated with DBDs, it is not clear whether these associations reflect causal effects or confounding. To strengthen causal inference, we meta-analyzed quasi-experimental evidence on the relationship between parenting practices and DBD symptoms. We conducted multilevel random-effects meta-analyses to pool results and assess evidence of heterogeneity and moderator analyses to further investigate potential sources of heterogeneity. We identified 45 studies that used data from 28 distinct cohorts (n = 38,591) and implemented seven different quasi-experimental methods. There was evidence of a causal effect of negative parenting practices on offspring DBD symptoms (Pearson’s r = 0.13; 95% confidence interval, CI [0.09, 0.16]; 95% prediction interval, PI [−0.08, 0.35]; n = 30,677), but no effect of positive parenting practices (r = −0.06; 95% CI [−0.14, 0.02]; 95% PI [−0.39, 0.28]; n = 21,100). Moderator analyses indicated that the effect of negative parenting was consistent across offspring characteristics and maternal and paternal parenting but varied by type of quasi-experimental method, informant for the exposure and outcome, and study quality. The present study thus provides evidence of a small, harmful, causal effect of negative parenting practices on offspring DBDs. Effectively targeting such parenting practices could reduce the substantial societal burden of DBDs, with a potential 4% decrease in the global prevalence of DBD symptoms. This is equivalent to approximately 4.5 million school-aged children no longer meeting clinical thresholds for DBDs, which may reduce pressure on the criminal justice, health care, and social welfare sectors. Keywords: disruptive behavior, causal inference, meta-analysis, parenting, quasi-experimental
Public Significance Statement Prevention programs that effectively target negative parenting practices, such as harsh and inconsistent discipline, could reduce the prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders by 4% worldwide, possibly preventing 4.5 million school-aged children from exhibiting clinical symptoms of disruptive behavior. Given the substantial financial and social costs of disruptive behavior, as well as the demand they place on services, even small shifts at the population level could yield large societal impacts. Furthermore, the impact of successful prevention programs could be exponential across generations, as more children are exposed to models of parenting that do not rely on negative practices.
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Original journal Psychological Bulletin
Published 2025-11-01
DOI 10.1037/bul0000495
Open record PMC12720486 The original authors and American Psychological Association do not endorse this journal or its agent. Verify findings in the canonical article before making consequential decisions.