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The intergenerational transmission of maternal discipline and standards for behavior
Author(s) -
Covell Katherine,
Grusec Joan E.,
King Gillian
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9507.1995.tb00049.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , aggression , praise , assertiveness , discipline , obedience , punishment (psychology) , child rearing , social psychology , variety (cybernetics) , spanking , poison control , human factors and ergonomics , social science , artificial intelligence , sociology , computer science , medicine , environmental health
Mothers and grandmothers of 3‐ to 5‐year‐olds rated their frequency of use of five disciplinary techniques – physical punishment, withdrawal of love, explanation, material reward, and praise, described how they would react in a variety of disciplinary situations, and rated how stringent they were in demanding appropriate behavior in the areas of obedience, honesty, helping, and control of aggression. Mothers were asked to respond with reference to their child, and grandmothers with reference to their daughter when she was between 3 and 5 years of age. There was a significant correlation between mothers and grandmothers in their use of physical punishment and material reward. Mothers of girls who were categorized as power assertive in their responses to disciplinary situations had mothers who were also power assertive. There was no relationship between mothers and grandmothers in the standards they set for behavior. It is argued that discipline techniques are generally learned in the privacy of the home while standards are more likely to evolve after a variety of life experiences and that it is this fact that accounts for the relationship between mothers and grandmothers in the former area and not the latter.