Open AccessCorporal punishment and externalizing behaviors in toddlers: The moderating role of positive and harsh parenting.
Author(s) -
Marcos Mendez,
Jared A. Durtschi,
Tricia K. Neppl,
Sandra M. Stith
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of family psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.138
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1939-1293
pISSN - 0893-3200
DOI - 10.1037/fam0000187
Subject(s) - corporal punishment , psychology , firstborn , psycinfo , spanking , developmental psychology , child discipline , externalization , punishment (psychology) , parenting styles , poison control , child rearing , positive parenting , injury prevention , human factors and ergonomics , social psychology , intervention (counseling) , birth order , medline , demography , psychiatry , medical emergency , medicine , population , sociology , political science , law
This study investigated whether corporal punishment when the child was 2 years old predicted child externalizing behaviors a year later, and whether or not this association was moderated by parents' observed behavior toward their child. Data came from 218 couples and their firstborn child. The frequency of fathers' corporal punishment when the child was 2 years old predicted child externalizing behaviors a year later, while controlling for initial levels of child externalizing behaviors. Also, observed positive and harsh parenting moderated the relationship between corporal punishment and child externalizing behaviors. These results highlight the importance of continuing to examine the effects of a commonly used form of discipline (i.e., corporal punishment) and the parental climate in which it is used. (PsycINFO Database Record