Parental Styles and Parental Emotional Intelligence as Predictors of Challenging Behavior Problems Among Children in Israel

We examined whether two facets of preschool children's home environment, parenting style and parental emotional intelligence, may be risk factors for challenging behaviors among kindergarten children in Arab society in Israel. We sampled 524 parents for children aged 4 to 5 years who completed questionnaires about their parenting style, emotional intelligence, and their child's behavior. Teachers also reported on the children's challenging behaviors to increase reliability. The findings revealed that authoritarian (high demandingness, low warmth) and uninvolved (low demandingness, low warmth) parenting styles and low parental emotional intelligence were associated with greater challenging behaviors in children (both parent and teacher reports). Notably, authoritative (high demandingness, high warmth) parenting style was related to fewer challenging behaviors in children, suggesting that this may be a protective factor for children. Our findings broadly parallel prior research across cultures.