Parents' executive functions, parenting styles, and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms: A relational model

© 2018 Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The present study examined the role of mother's and father's executive functions (EF), warmth and harsh parenting, and child oppositional defiant disorder symptoms (ODD). A total of 100 families with preschool children participated. The mothers answered three questionnaires: EMBU, ECI-4, and the BRIEF; the fathers answered only the BRIEF. The analysis was done by testing two structural equation models (SEM). The results showed that both models had an excellent fit and presented a significant path from mother's EF toward harsh parenting; the second model presented a significant path from harsh parenting to ODD symptoms. Our findings are concluded in light of the importance of addressing parenting interventions to prevent further conduct/disruptive disorders.