NCJ Number
245464
Journal
Journal of Family Violence Volume: 28 Issue: 5 Dated: July 2013 Pages: 445-458
Date Published
July 2013
Length
14 pages
Annotation
Survey data collected from University of Manitoba students (n=1,133) was used to assess the effects of childhood experiences of corporal punishment (CP) and psychological aggression (PA) on internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem) in early adulthood.
Abstract
Parental use of aggressive discipline, specifically corporal punishment (CP) and psychological aggression (PA) has been shown to increase the risk for a number of problem behaviors in children and adolescents. How CP and PA experienced in childhood contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in adulthood remains to be understood. Survey data collected from University of Manitoba students (n=1,133) was used to assess the effects of childhood experiences of CP and PA on internalizing problems (i.e., depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem) in early adulthood. Because aggressive disciplinary techniques do not occur in isolation, a number of protective factors were also considered in analyses. Both CP and PA were associated with lower levels of parental warmth/support and responsiveness, and more inconsistency in discipline. However, highly inductive parents tended to use CP and PA more frequently than less inductive parents. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that childhood PA predicted anxiety and lower self-esteem in adulthood, even after the effects of positive parenting were taken into account. These findings suggest that not only do CP and PA tend to occur within environments that are less conducive to positive development, but also predict problematic developmental outcomes in adulthood even after the effects of protective factors are taken into account. Abstract published by arrangement with Springer.