358 III. DEvELOPMENT
2005; Pettit, Keiley, Laird, Bates, & Dodge, 
2007; Salihovic, Kerr, Özdemir, & Pakalni -
skiene, 2012; Scaramella, Sohr-  Preston, Mi -
rabile, Robison, & Callahan, 2008).
Personality as a Mediator of the Association 
between  Parenting and  Offspring  Behavior
It is generally accepted that an offspring’s 
personality influences his or her behaviors 
and life outcomes (path D in Figure 16.1), in -
cluding academic achievement (Duckworth 
& Allred, 2012; Noftle & Robins, 2007), 
income (Schofield et al., 2011), employ -
ment (Viinikainen & Kokko, 2012), health 
(Atherton, Robins, Rentfrow, & Lamb, 
2014; Bogg & Roberts, 2004), and relation -
ship satisfaction (Schaffhuser, Allemand, & 
Martin, 2014). The influence of parenting 
practices on a wide range of offspring devel -
opmental outcomes (path E in Figure 16.1) 
is also generally accepted (Collins et al., 
2000). These research questions have often 
been studied in isolation, and few research -
ers have addressed the degree to which off -
spring personality traits mediate the relation 
between parenting and offspring behavior 
(paths C and D in Figure 16.1).
Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological sys -
tems model provides support for a parent -
ing → offspring personality → offspring 
behavior process. In the ecological model, 
individual-  level factors such as personality 
traits are most proximal to the child and 
therefore may have the largest effects on off -
spring behavior. Distal features of the envi -
ronment (i.e., parents, peers, siblings) may 
affect offspring development through more 
proximal factors. Therefore, we might ex -
pect a mediation process in which parenting 
behavior predicts offspring behavior (in part 
or in full) because of its effect on offspring 
personality traits.
In other words, it is possible that Mrs. 
McCallister’s parenting behavior influences 
Kevin’s level of conscientiousness, which 
then leads Kevin to do well in school. In 
fact, empirical research on this mediating 
pathway supports this notion. Autonomy- 
supportive parenting influences children’s 
academic achievement, in part through the 
child’s improved executive functioning and 
self- regulation (Bindman, Pomerantz, & 
 Roisman, 2015), and overcontrolling par -
enting in toddlerhood was associated with later adjustment outcomes in childhood, 
both directly and indirectly through the 
child’s self-  regulatory tendencies (Perry, 
Dollar, Calkins, Keane, & Shanahan, 2018). 
Inconsistent discipline and positive parent -
ing both have indirect influences on child 
and adolescent attention-  deficit/hyperactivi -
ty disorder (ADHD) symptoms via offspring 
conscientiousness (Ullsberger, Nigg, & 
Nikolas, 2016). Among adults, the influence 
of parental socialization of responsibility on 
offspring health behaviors is fully mediated 
by offspring conscientiousness (Takahashi, 
Roberts, & Hoshino, 2012).
Although these are only four empirical ex -
amples of how parenting influences behav -
ior through offspring trait characteristics, 
it is notable that these processes are being 
examined across different parenting dimen -
sions (support, discipline, socialization) and 
multiple conceptualizations of the same 
broader trait of self-  regulation (executive 
functioning and conscientiousness), span -
ning multiple behaviors/outcomes (academic 
achievement, psychopathology, and physical 
health). Given that we know relatively little 
about the degree to which offspring trait 
change links parenting practices and other 
domains of offspring development, well-  
designed longitudinal research with multiple 
reporters is needed in this area.
Offspring Personality as  a Moderator 
of Parenting  Influences
A core theoretical concept in personality and 
developmental psychology is that behavior 
is shaped by a dynamic interaction between 
environmental conditions and individual 
characteristics (e.g., Conger & Donnellan, 
2007; Magnusson & Stattin, 1998; Sam -
eroff, 2010), otherwise known as person– 
environment interactions.  If we consider 
parenting behavior as an “environmental 
condition,” we can better understand the 
ways in which an offspring’s personality ei -
ther exacerbates  or diminishes  the effect of 
parenting practices on how the offspring ac -
tually behaves (paths E and F in Figure 16.1).
Research on how traits interact with the 
environment to influence behavior has in -
creased in recent decades, with studies rang -
ing across many different aspects of parent -
ing (i.e., control and discipline, warmth and 
sensitivity, monitoring) and many different 