The Effects of Inconsistent Parenting on the Development of Uncertain Self-Esteem and Depression Vulnerability

Abstract

Although there are numerous reports of how adverse parent-child interactions during development might contribute to problems with self-esteem and later risk for depression, less research has focused on the potential deleterious effects of parenting inconsistency during development. The purpose of the current study was to test whether reports of inconsistent parent-child interactions during development are associated with uncertain self-esteem and depression vulnerability in adulthood. In order to test this possibility, a previously depressed group (high-risk) of college students and a never depressed group (low-risk) of college students were compared on measures of trait self-esteem, self-esteem certainty, parental bonding (care and over-protection), and a new retrospective measure of parenting consistency (Consistency of Parenting Scale; COPS; Luxton, 2007). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test a series of structural and latent means models that examined whether inconsistent parenting contributes to the development of uncertain self-esteem and depression risk--above and beyond the influence of negative parenting dimensions alone (i.e., low care and overprotection). The results indicated that only consistency of mother care was associated with certainty of self-esteem in the high-risk group and only mother consistency of control was associated with self-esteem certainty in the low-risk group. The high-risk group also reported higher levels of father inconsistency of care and lower levels of both trait self-esteem and self-esteem certainty compared to the low-risk group. Although there was not a general moderating effect of gender on the association between the parenting variables and self-esteem certainty, gender by depression status model tests indicated that the association between inconsistent mother control and certainty of self-esteem was only among low-risk women and the association between inconsistent mother care and self-esteem certainty was only among high-risk women. Both high-risk women and high-risk men reported higher levels of father inconsistency of care compared to low-risk women. These findings are important because they suggest that inconsistent parenting practices might have an adverse influence on the development of the self-esteem of children, which may make children more vulnerable for depression later in life. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.