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The Impact of Aggressive Parental Discipline Experienced in Childhood on Externalizing Problem Behavior in Early Adulthood

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Abstract

Controversy exists with regard to the use of corporal punishment (CP) in childrearing. However, parental aggression toward children is not always physical in nature, and parental disciplinary strategies can also include psychological aggression (PA). Survey data collected from university students were used to examine the impact of aggressive parental discipline strategies experienced in childhood on externalizing problem behaviors in early adulthood. At the bivariate level, both CP and PA in childhood were associated with intimate partner violence perpetration, criminality, and alcohol abuse in early adulthood. In multivariate analyses, childhood CP predicted intimate partner violence perpetration in early adulthood, even after the effects of numerous contextual variables and concurrent protective factors were taken into account. Implications of these findings are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Graduate Scholarship to Tamara L. Taillieu. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Angele Fauchier and Dr. Murray Straus at the University of New Hampshire for their invaluable assistance in making this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Applied Health Sciences Program, University of Manitoba, 500 University Centre, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Tamara L. Taillieu

  2. Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, 35 Chancellor’s Circle, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Douglas A. Brownridge

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  1. Tamara L. Taillieu
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  2. Douglas A. Brownridge
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Correspondence to Tamara L. Taillieu.

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Taillieu, T.L., Brownridge, D.A. The Impact of Aggressive Parental Discipline Experienced in Childhood on Externalizing Problem Behavior in Early Adulthood. Journ Child Adol Trauma 8, 253–264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40653-015-0063-y

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