Transactions Between Child Social Wariness and Observed Structured Parenting: Evidence from a Prospective Adoption Study

Several studies have linked childhood anxiety symptoms to parenting behaviors; however, the mechanisms of this association are not well characterized and may be due to socialization, shared genes, or a combination of both. Using an adoption design, this study sought to elucidate the relationship between mother and father structured parenting (e.g., verbal commands to do something) and child social wariness (e.g., shyness). Results indicate that mother and father structured parenting influenced children's child social wariness differently.