The Direct and Indirect Effects of Home Clutter on Parenting

The purpose of this study was to examine multiple predictors of maternal authoritarian parenting including (a) cluttered homes, (b) child characteristics (i.e., emotional temperament), and (c) maternal characteristics (i.e., tense/nervousness). Data were gathered from 177 mothers of young children between ages 3 and 5 (95 male, 82 female children) attending two early childhood programs in a midsized community in the western United States. Structural equation modeling (AMOS 19.0) was used to examine the strength of the relationships within the model. Results showed that authoritarian parenting was positively predicted by home clutter and mother tenseness/nervousness, and mediational analyses shed light on the nature of these relationships.