Punishment and personality: Low agreeableness and low conscientiousness as mediators of the inconsistent/angry parenting–delinquency relationships.

This study examined whether the personality traits Agreeableness and Conscientiousness mediate the relationship between mid-adolescent inconsistent or angry parenting and late adolescent delinquency, using data from 3,701 Australian youth in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Results indicated that angry parenting predicted increased delinquency through its negative impact on Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, while inconsistent parenting alone did not show this mediation effect unless angry parenting was excluded from the model. The findings suggest that angry parenting may hinder the development of personality traits associated with empathy and self-control, thereby increasing delinquency risk. These results highlight the interplay between social parenting behaviors and personality development in influencing youth delinquent outcomes and underscore the potential value of parenting interventions that address emotional regulation alongside disciplinary consistency.