Abstract
The goal of the present study was to examine associations between maternal use of power assertive parenting across different discipline contexts and children’s adjustment in a sample of low-income, racially diverse families. Drawing from social domain perspectives on parenting, we specifically examined discipline in response to child transgressions in conventional, moral, and prudential contexts. In turn, we tested how power assertive discipline within these domains may be differentially linked to children’s externalizing and internalizing symptomatology over time. Participants included 201 toddlers and their mothers who were assessed across two waves spaced two years apart. Results indicated that mothers were more likely to endorse power assertive parenting within prudential contexts compared to others. Longitudinal analyses revealed that power assertive discipline in the conventional domain was primarily associated with internalizing symptoms while the moral domain was associated with externalizing symptoms over time. Moreover, domains of caregiving were differentially associated with substantive constructs as opposed to sociodemographic constructs. The results are interpreted within social domain conceptualizations of socialization that underscore how distinct domains may differentially impact children’s socio-emotional adjustment.
Highlights
-
Discipline in the moral domain linked to greater externalizing symptoms.
-
Discipline in the conventional domain associated with greater internalizing symptoms.
-
Discipline in the prudential domain linked to lower externalizing symptoms.
-
Children’s difficult temperament was associated with maternal use of power-assertive discipline.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
Ball, C. L., Smetana, J. G., Sturge-Apple, M. L., Suor, J. H., & Skibo, M. A. (2017). Moral development in context: Associations of neighborhood and maternal discipline with preschoolers’ moral judgments. Developmental Psychology, 53, 1881–1894. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000378.
Baumrind, D. (1996). The discipline controversy revisited. Family Relations, 45, 405–414. https://doi.org/10.2307/585170.
Baumrind, D. (2012). Differentiating between confrontive and coercive kinds of parental power-assertive disciplinary practices. Human Development, 55, 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1159/000337962.
Bavolek, S. (1984) Adult-adolescent parenting inventory (AAPI). Park City, UT: Family Development Resources, Inc.
Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A process model. Child Development, 1, 83–96. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129836.
Berlin, L. J., Ispa, J. M., Fine, M. A., Malone, P. S., Brooks‐Gunn, J., Brady‐Smith, C., & Bai, Y. (2009). Correlates and consequences of spanking and verbal punishment for low‐income White, African American, and Mexican American toddlers. Child Development, 80, 1403–1420. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01341.x.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). Contexts of child rearing: Problems and prospects. American psychologist, 10, 844–850. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.34.10.844.
Castro-Schilo, L., & Grimm, K. J. (2018). Using residualized change versus difference scores for longitudinal research. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 35, 32–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407517718387.
Chilamkurti, C., & Milner, J. S. (1993). Perceptions and evaluations of child transgressions and disciplinary techniques in high‐and low‐risk mothers and their children. Child Development, 6, 1801–1814. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131470.
Choe, D. E., Olson, S. L., & Sameroff, A. J. (2013). Effects of early maternal distress and parenting on the development of children’s self-regulation and externalizing behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 437–453. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579412001162.
Daddis, C., & Smetana, J. G. (2014). Parenting from the social domain theory perspective: This time it’s personal. In L. Scheier & W. Hansen (Eds.), Parenting and teen drug use (pp. 110–126). New York: Oxford Press.
Dahl, A., & Campos, J. J. (2013). Domain differences in early social interactions. Child Development, 84, 817–825. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12002.
Dahl, A., & Chan, S. S. (2017). Power assertion in everyday mother–infant interactions. Infant Behavior and Development, 47, 58–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2017.03.002.
Enders, C. K. (2001). A primer on maximum likelihood algorithms available for use with missing data. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 8, 128–141. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0801_7.
Ferguson, C. J. (2013). Spanking, corporal punishment and negative long-term outcomes: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 33, 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.11.002.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Wormuth, B. K., Vanderminden, J., & Hamby, S. (2019). Corporal punishment: Current rates from a national survey. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 1991–1997. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01426-4.
Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, R., Calzada, E., Huang, K. Y., Covas, M., Castillo, C. M., & Brotman, L. M. (2018). Parent spanking and verbal punishment, and young child internalizing and externalizing behaviors in Latino immigrant families: Test of moderation by context and culture. Parenting, 18, 219–242. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2018.1524242.
Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological bulletin, 4, 539–579. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.4.539.
Gershoff, E. T., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology, 30, 453–469. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000191.
Grusec, J. E., & Davidov, M. (2010). Integrating different perspectives on socialization theory and research: A domain‐specific approach. Child Development, 81, 687–709. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01426.x.
Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four factor index of social status. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118.
Hyde, L. W., Shaw, D. S., & Moilanen, K. L. (2010). Developmental precursors of moral disengagement and the role of moral disengagement in the development of antisocial behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 197–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-009-9358-5.
Jambon, M., & Smetana, J. G. (2018). Individual differences in prototypical moral and conventional judgments and children’s proactive and reactive aggression. Child Development, 89, 1343–1359. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12757.
Kerr, D. C., Lopez, N. L., Olson, S. L., & Sameroff, A. J. (2004). Parental discipline and externalizing behavior problems in early childhood: The roles of moral regulation and child gender. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 4, 369–383. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jacp.0000030291.72775.96.
Kim, S., & Kochanska, G. (2015). Mothers’ power assertion; children’s negative, adversarial orientation; and future behavior problems in low-income families: Early maternal responsiveness as a moderator of the developmental cascade. Journal of Family Psychology, 29, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038430.
Kochanska, G., Aksan, N., & Nichols, K. E. (2003). Maternal power assertion in discipline and moral discourse contexts: commonalities, differences, and implications for children’s moral conduct and cognition. Developmental Psychology, 39, 949–963. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.39.6.949.
Kuczynski, L. (1984). Socialization goals and mother–child interaction: Strategies for long-term and short-term compliance. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1061–1073. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.20.6.1061.
Lapré, G. E., & Marsee, M. A. (2016). The role of race in the association between corporal punishment and externalizing problems: Does punishment severity matter? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 25, 432–441. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0250-3.
Larzelere, R. E., & Kuhn, B. R. (2005). Comparing child outcomes of physical punishment and alternative disciplinary tactics: A meta-analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 8, 1–37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-005-2340-z.
Larzelere, R. E., Knowles, S. J., Henry, C. S., & Ritchie, K. L. (2018). Immediate and long-term effectiveness of disciplinary tactics by type of toddler noncompliance. Parenting, 18, 141–171. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2018.1465304.
Larzelere, R. E., Morris, A. S., & Harrist, A. W. (2013). Authoritative parenting: Synthesizing nurturance and discipline for optimal child development. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13948-000.
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202.
Lopez, N. L., Schneider, H. G., & Dula, C. S. (2002). Parent discipline scale: Discipline choice as a function of transgression type. North. American Journal of Psychology, 4, 381–393.
M. Killen, & J. G. Smetana (Eds.) (2014). Handbook of moral development (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1, 130–149.
McArdle, J. J. (2009). Latent variable modeling of differences and changes with longitudinal data. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 577–605. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163612.
McArdle, J. J., & Hamagami, F. (2001). Latent difference score structural models for linear dynamic analyses with incomplete longitudinal data. In L. M. Collins & A. G. Sayer (Eds.), New methods for the analysis of change (pp. 139–175). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10409-005.
McLoyd, V. C., & Smith, J. (2002). Physical discipline and behavior problems in African American, European American, and Hispanic children: Emotional support as a moderator. Journal of Marriage and Family, 1, 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00040.x.
Molnar, B.E., Goerge, R.M., Gilsanz, P., Hill, A., Subramanian, S.V., Holton, J.K., Duncan, D.T., Beatriz, E.D., & Beardslee, W.R. (2016). Neighborhood-level social processes and substantiated cases of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.11.007.
Montes, M. P., de Paúl, J., & Milner, J. S. (2001). Evaluations, attributions, affect, and disciplinary choices in mothers at high and low risk for child physical abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 1015–1036. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0145-2134(01)00254-X.
O’Gara, J. L., Calzada, E. J., LaBrenz, C., & Barajas-Gonzalez, R. G. (2020). Examining the longitudinal effect of spanking on young latinx child behavior problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 3080–3090.
Ogbu, J. U. (1981). Origins of human competence: A cultural-ecological perspective. Child Development, 2, 413–429. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129158.
Paolucci, E. O., & Violato, C. (2004). A meta-analysis of the published research on the affective, cognitive, and behavioral effects of corporal punishment. The Journal of Psychology, 138, 197–222. https://doi.org/10.3200/JRLP.138.3.197-222.
Power, T. G., Kobayashi-Winata, H., & Kelley, M. L. (1992). Childrearing patterns in Japan and the United States: A cluster analytic study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 185–205.
Power, T. G. (2002). Parenting dimensions inventory (PDI-S): A research manual. Unpublished manuscript, Washington State University.
Rote, W. M., & Smetana, J. G. (2015). Acceptability of information management strategies: Adolescents’ and parents’ judgments and links with adjustment and relationships. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 25, 490–505. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12143.
Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., Hershey, K. L., & Fisher, P. (2001). Investigations of temperament at three to seven years: The Children’s Behavior Questionnaire. Child Development, 72, 1394–1408. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00355.
Schlomer, G. L., Bauman, S., & Card, N. A. (2010). Best practices for missing data management in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 57, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/a001808.
Smetana, J. (1984). Toddlers’ social interactions regarding moral and conventional transgressions. Child Development, 55, 1767–1776. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129924.
Smetana, J., Crean, H. F., & Campione‐Barr, N. (2005). Adolescents’ and parents’ changing conceptions of parental authority. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 108, 31–46. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.12.
Smetana, J. G. (1995). Parenting styles and conceptions of parental authority during adolescence. Child Development, 66, 299–316.
Smetana, J. G. (2017). Current research on parenting styles, dimensions, and beliefs. Current Opinion in Psychology, 15, 19–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.02.012.
Smetana, J. G., & Daddis, C. (2002). Domain‐specific antecedents of parental psychological control and monitoring: The role of parenting beliefs and practices. Child Development, 73, 563–580. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00424.
Smetana, J. G., Campione‐Barr, N., & Daddis, C. (2004). Longitudinal development of family decision making: Defining healthy behavioral autonomy for middle‐class African American adolescents. Child Development, 75, 1418–1434. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00749.x.
Smetana J. G. (20110) Adolescents’ social reasoning and relationships with parents: Conflicts and coordinations within and across domains. In: E. Amsel, & J. Smetana (Eds.), Adolescent vulnerabilities and opportunities: Developmental and constructivist perspectives (pp. 139–150). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Smetana, J. G. (1997). Parenting and the development of social knowledge reconceptualized: A social-domain analysis. In J. E. Grusec & L. Kuczynski (Eds.), Parenting and children’s internalization of values: A handbook of contemporary theory (pp. 162– 192). New York: Wiley.
Smetana, J. G., Jambon, M., & Ball, C. (2014). The social domain approach to children’s moral and social judgments. In: M. Killen & J. G. Smetana (Ed.), Handbook of moral development (2nd. ed.). New York: Taylor & Francis Publishers.
Sorkhabi, N., & Middaugh, E. (2019). Domain-specific parenting practices and adolescent self-esteem, problem behaviors, and competence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28, 505–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1270-6.
Steiger, J. H. (1990). Structural model evaluation and modification: An internal estimation approach. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 25, 173–180. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327906mbr2502_.
Straus, Murray A., & Angèle Fauchier (2007). Manual for the dimensions of discipline inventory (DDI). Durham, NH: Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire.
Steiger, J. H. (2016). Notes on the Steiger–Lind (1980) handout. Structural equation modeling: A multidisciplinary journal, 6, 777-781. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705511.2016.1217487.
Taylor, C. A., Hamvas, L., & Paris, R. (2011). Perceived instrumentality and normativeness of corporal punishment use among black mothers. Family relations, 60, 60–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2010.00633.x.
Turiel, E. (2010). Domain specificity in social interactions, social thought, and social development. Child Development, 81, 720–726. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01429.x.
Turiel, E. (1983). The development of social knowledge: Morality and convention. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Turiel, E. (2008). The development of morality. In W. Damon, R. M. Lerner, D. Kuhn, R. S. Siegler, & N. Eisenberg (Eds.), Child and adolescent development: An advanced course (pp. 473– 514). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Whaley, A. L. (2000). Sociocultural differences in the developmental consequences of the use of physical discipline during childhood for African Americans. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 6, 5–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/1099-9809.6.1.5.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the children, parents, and community agencies who participated in this project and to the Mt. Hope Family Center staff.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01 MH071256) awarded to Patrick T. Davies and Dante Cicchetti. The authors have no relevant financial or nonfinancial interests to disclose.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or nonfinancial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript. The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.
Ethics
The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of the University of Rochester. The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to Participate
Mothers provided written consent and permission for their child before the families were enrolled in the study.
Additional information
Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sturge-Apple, M.L., Jacques, D.T., Davies, P.T. et al. Maternal Power Assertive Discipline and Children’s Adjustment in High-Risk Families: A Social Domain Theory Approach. J Child Fam Stud 31, 2319–2330 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02127-7
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02127-7