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Intergenerational and Partner Influences on Fathers’ Negative Discipline

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Abstract

Recent studies have found significant but relatively modest associations in parenting across generations, suggesting additional influences on parenting beyond experiences in the family of origin. The present prospective, cross-generational study of at-risk men (Oregon Youth Study) focuses on fathers’ negative discipline practices with their 2- to 3-year-old children. The theoretical model is based on a dynamic developmental systems approach to problematic family functioning, which points to the importance of developmental systems, including family risk context and key influential social interactional systems, and emphasizes influence that is directly pertinent to the outcome of interest. Path modeling indicated that the men’s poor and harsh discipline practices were predicted by partners’ problem behavior (substance use and antisocial behavior) and negative discipline practices, as well as by poor discipline experienced in the family of origin; men’s own problem behavior, ages at which they became fathers, and family socioeconomic status were controlled. Findings indicate the importance of focusing on influence dynamics across parents.

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Notes

  1. For clarification, “G1 mother and father” refer to the parents of the G2 man (recruited as a child for OYS), who is referred to as “G2 man” or “G2 father.” “G3” refers to the (in most cases biological) child of the G2 father. “G2 mother” refers to the woman, who in most cases, is the partner of the G2 father and the mother of G3. Parents of the G2 mother were not assessed.

  2. For the fathers, whose substance use scores came from different OYS waves, the majority of indicators were very similar at each of the possible OYS time points. In some instances, the number of component items/indicators fluctuated slightly, and the method of summarizing (i.e., continuous versus categorical and sum versus mean) changed. However, all scores were standardized within the OYS sample at each time point, and all essential items were retained. Therefore, there was little substantive difference among the final constructs.

  3. Some G2 fathers included in the model may have separated from their partner (G2 mother) prior to or shortly after their child’s birth. Because such fathers may have had little exposure to their partner’s risk behavior and discipline practices, we examined whether this circumstance impacted the similar nonaggregated G3 level models. Overall, most fathers did have substantial exposure to their partner: 75% of G3 children had lived with both biological parents for at least 75% of the time prior to the assessment. Two strategies were used. First, the model was rerun eliminating cases for which the biological parents were together less than 34% of the time since the child’s birth (11 cases). This resulted in minor changes in fit (the fit remained satisfactory) but no substantive differences in findings. The second strategy was to control for exposure time by weighting both the G2 mothers’ risk behavior and discipline constructs by exposure time (by multiplying the construct scores by proportion of the time the child lived with both parents). The model fit was comparable and acceptable, and findings essentially unchanged.

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  1. Oregon Social Learning Center, 10 Shelton McMurphey Blvd., Eugene, OR, 97401-4928, USA

    Deborah M. Capaldi, Katherine C. Pears, David C. R. Kerr & Lee D. Owen

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  1. Deborah M. Capaldi
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Correspondence to Deborah M. Capaldi.

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Capaldi, D.M., Pears, K.C., Kerr, D.C.R. et al. Intergenerational and Partner Influences on Fathers’ Negative Discipline. J Abnorm Child Psychol 36, 347–358 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9182-8

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