Children’s perceptions of maternal hostility as a mediator of the link between discipline and children’s adjustment in four countries

Abstract

Using data from 195 dyads of mothers and children (age range = 8-12 years; M = 10.63) in four countries (China, India, the Philippines, and Thailand), this study examined children's perceptions of maternal hostility as a mediator of the links between physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline and children's adjustment. Both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had direct effects on mothers' reports of children's anxiety and aggression; three of these four links were mediated by children's perceptions of maternal hostility. In contrast, there were no significant direct effects of physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline on children's reports of their own anxiety and aggression. Instead, both physical discipline and harsh verbal discipline had indirect effects on the outcomes through children's perceptions of maternal hostility. We identified a significant interaction between perceived normativeness and use of harsh verbal discipline on children's perception of maternal hostility, but children's perception of the normativeness of physical discipline did not moderate the relation between physical discipline and perceived maternal hostility. The effects of harsh verbal discipline were more adverse when children perceived that form of discipline as being nonnormative than when children perceived that form of discipline as being normative. Results are largely consistent with a theoretical model positing that the meaning children attach to parents' discipline strategies is important in understanding associations between discipline and children's adjustment, and that cultural context is associated with children's interpretations of their parents' behavior. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptInt J Behav Dev. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 September 1. Children's Perceptions of Maternal Hostility as a Mediator of the Link between Discipline and Children's Adjustment in Four CountriesA growing body of research documents cultural differences in the link between parents' use of physical discipline and children's adjustment and suggests that children's interpretations of their parents' behavior may be a key mediating factor. Deater-Deckard and Dodge (1997) proposed that the cultural normative context in which physical discipline occurs alters the meaning of discipline to the child. This principle likely applies not just to physical discipline but to other forms of harsh discipline as well. If physical punishment or other forms of discipline are administered in a context in which that form of discipline is normative or accompanied by parental warmth and a goal of helping the child grow into a responsible adult, then that caring message might be received by the child and could buffer the adverse effects of the harsh discipline on child outcomes. If a form of harsh discipline is administered in a context in which that parental behavior is less normative and more aberrant, then the message received by the child may be that the parent is out of control and hostile toward the child, which...

Maternal and paternal physical abuse: Unique and joint associations with child behavioral problems

“…The salient relationship may be because children expect their mother to be protective and warm. Hence, maternal physical abuse may be regarded as rejection and denial, and hence, increases children’s vulnerability to behavioral problems (Lansford et al, 2010). However, it is inconsistent with the finding in Wang et al (2016) that, in a Chinese sample, maternal physical abuse was not significantly related to child anxiety after adjusting for maternal and paternal psychological aggression and physical punishment, paternal physical abuse, and other covariates.…”

“…Secondly, child gender was not taken into consideration in examining the effect of maternal and paternal physical abuse, considering the small sample size of children who were abused solely by one parent. Several studies suggest that the occurrence and effect of child abuse are functions of both parents and child gender (Braza et al, 2015; Cui et al, 2016; Hoeve et al, 2011; Lansford et al, 2010). Future studies are needed to investigate both the interaction between parents and child gender in the relationship between child abuse and behaviors.…”

Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS)

“…Lansford, Alampay, et al, 2010; Raudino et al, 2013), Italian students more often rated their mothers and fathers as less positive and secure, but less often the perpetrators of emotionally abusive behaviour toward them, as well as physically abusive behaviour both towards them directly and towards others in their family. Indeed, prior studies suggested that Canadian parents tend to be more diplomatic than Italians, who tend to enforce stricter rules on their children, sometimes also using corporal punishment, which remain more acceptable within the Italian culture as compared to North American families (Lansford, Alampay, et al, 2010; Lansford, Malone et al, 2010). In contrast to this, some studies (Hsu & Lavelli, 2005; Raudino et al, 2013) considered Italian mothers to be particularly warm, emotional and social caregivers.…”

The Interface of Maternal Cognitions and Executive Function in Parenting and Child Conduct Problems

“…The harsh verbal parenting construct included Shame and Verbal Discipline subscales that were adapted from the Discipline Questionnaire (Lansford et al, 2010). These combined scales have been used previously in a measure of maternal harsh negativity (Deater-Deckard et al, 2012).…”