A history of exposure to harsh physical discipline has been linked to negative outcomes for children, ranging from conduct disorder to depression and low self-esteem. The present study extends this work into adolescence, and examines the relationship of lifetime histories of harsh discipline to adolescents' internalizing and externalizing symptoms and to their developing capacities for establishing autonomy and relatedness in family interactions. Adolescent and parent reports of harsh discipline, independently coded observations of conflictual interactions, and adolescent reports of symptoms were obtained for 141 adolescents at age 16. Both parents' use of harsh discipline was related to greater adolescent depression and externalizing behavior, even when these effects were examined over and above the effects of other parenting measures known to account for these symptoms. Adolescents exposed to harsh discipline from mothers were also less likely to appear warm and engaged during an interaction task with their mothers. It is suggested that a history of harsh discipline is associated not only with social and emotional functioning, but also with the developmental task of autonomy and relatedness.One of the central debates within the literature on parenting behavior concerns the implications of harsh physical discipline. Although generally accepted that more serious forms of physical abuse are associated with negative outcomes, there is less consensus about the larger continuum of discipline behaviors. Some researchers believe that mild to moderate behaviors, such as spanking and slapping, are not harmful for children (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002), whereas others argue these behaviors predict a more negative trajectory (Gershoff, 2002). Furthermore, there is little evidence about whether harsh parental discipline is associated with developmental progress during the adolescent years. To date, most studies have examined the behavioral and emotional sequelae of harsh punishment and physical abuse during childhood (Strassberg, Dodge, Pettit, & Bates, 1994;Toth, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1992), rather than the developmental course as it unfolds in adolescence. The goal of this paper is twofold: to examine the links between harsh is parental discipline and developing autonomy and relatedness in the parent-adolescent NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript relationship, and to examine the relationship between harsh parental discipline and selected behavioral outcomes outside of the family context. This paper first focuses on difficulties in achieving a primary task of social development during adolescence, establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness with parents, as a possible correlate of harsh physical discipline. Many contemporary theorists recognize this task as a defining aspect of the parent-adolescent relationship and a marker of healthy relationships into adulthood Silverberg & Gondoli, 1996). The ability to handle this challenge has been linked to high...

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