Sex differences in the reciprocal relationships between mild and severe corporal punishment and children's internalizing problem behavior in a Chinese sample

doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2012.09.004

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Volume 34, Issue 1, January–February 2013, Pages 9-16

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2012.09.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the sex differences in the reciprocal relations between parental corporal punishment and child internalizing problem behavior in China. Four hundred fifty-four Chinese elementary school-age children completed measures of their parental corporal punishment toward them and their own internalizing problem behavior at two time points, 6 months apart. Structural equation modeling revealed that both parental mild and severe corporal punishment significantly predicted child internalizing problem behavior for girls, but only parental severe corporal punishment marginally predicted child internalizing problem behavior for boys; child internalizing problem behavior predicted both mild and severe corporal punishment for boys but not for girls. The findings highlight the important role of severity of corporal punishment and child sex in understanding the relations between parental corporal punishment and child internalizing problem behavior and have implications for the intervention efforts aimed at reducing child internalizing symptoms or parental corporal punishment in China.

Highlights

► The study examined sex differences in the reciprocal relations between corporal punishment and child internalizing behavior. ► Both mild and severe corporal punishment predicted girls' internalizing behavior. ► Severe corporal punishment marginally predicted boys' internalizing behavior.► Boys' internalizing behavior predicted mild and severe corporal punishment.

Section snippets

Samples

The children in this study were participants from an ongoing longitudinal study of parental discipline and child adjustment (Xing et al., 2011). Four hundred and eighty-six Grade 3 through Grade 5 children (241 boys; 245 girls) were recruited from one public elementary school located in an eastern Chinese city. We chose to study this group for two reasons. First, it has been found that discipline techniques change with the age of the child and the reciprocal relationships between corporal

Preliminary analyses

Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics for parental corporal punishment subscale scores and child internalizing problem behavior subscale scores at two assessments for the full sample and subsamples. Bivariate correlations among these scores are provided separately by child sex in Table 2. For both boys and girls, associations between parental corporal punishment and child internalizing problem behavior were positive, with more corporal punishment at both time points associated with more

Discussion

The goal of this study was to examine the sex differences in the reciprocal relationships between parental mild or severe corporal punishment and child internalizing problem behavior in a Chinese community sample of elementary school-age children. Contrary to our initial expectations, the reciprocal relations were not found for the full samples of boys and girls. Although both parental mild and severe corporal punishment influenced children's internalizing problem behavior, the reverse was not

Acknowledgment

This research was supported by Humanistic and Social Science Project of Ministry of Education in China (Project No. 11YJA190017) and Key Subject Funds of Shandong Province, PR China (2011-2015). We are grateful to all the children, parents, and teachers who participated or contributed to this project.

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Citation Excerpt :
In the current sample, the Cronbach’s alphas for the perceived normativeness of psychological aggression and corporal punishment were 0.73 and 0.81, respectively. The Chinese version of the Youth Self-Report measure (YSR; Achenbach, 1991; Xing, Wang, Zhang, He, & Zhang, 2011; Xing & Wang, 2013) was used to obtain the adolescents’ reports on their own externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. The YSR externalizing behavior scale consists of two subscales: aggressive behavior (19 items, e.g., “I physically attack people”) and delinquent behavior (11 items, e.g., “I steal at home”).
This study examined the relations between parental harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment) and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and the moderating effects of adolescents’ perceived normativeness of harsh discipline in Chinese society. Using a sample of 1158 Chinese middle-school students, our findings revealed that parental harsh discipline was associated with high levels of adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Adolescents’ perceived normativeness of psychological aggression buffered the association between parental psychological aggression and adolescents’ internalizing problem behaviors, whereas their perceived normativeness of corporal punishment buffered the association between parental corporal punishment and adolescents’ externalizing problem behaviors. The findings from the current study highlight the importance of considering how adolescents’ perceptions may influence the effects of parental harsh discipline on adolescent adjustment.

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Sex differences in the reciprocal relationships between mild and severe corporal punishment and children's internalizing problem behavior in a Chinese sample

Abstract

Highlights

Section snippets

Samples

Preliminary analyses

Discussion

Acknowledgment

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Clinical Psychology Review

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Child Abuse & Neglect

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile

Integrative guide for the 1991 CBCL/4–18, YSR, and TRF profiles

Method variance in structural equation modeling: Living with “glop.”

A blanket injunction against disciplinary use of spanking is not warranted by the data

Pediatrics

Socialization findings reexamined

Study on child abuse and spouse battering: Report on findings of household survey (A Consultancy Study Commissioned by the SWD of the HKSAR)

Parental socialization of emotion expression: Gender differences and relations to child adjustment

Emotion

Daily family conflict and emotional distress among adolescents from Latin American, Asian, and European back-grounds

Developmental Psychology

Parenting during middle childhood

Internalizing symptoms in adolescents: Gender differences in vulnerability to parental distress and discord

Journal of Research on Adolescence

Externalizing behavior problems and discipline revisited: Nonlinear effects and variation by culture, context, and gender

Psychological Inquiry

Physical discipline among African American and European American mothers: Links to children's externalizing behaviors

Developmental Psychology

The development of attitudes about physical punishment: An 8-year longitudinal study

Journal of Family Psychology

Parent–adolescent relationships, physical disciplinary history, and adjustment in adolescents

Family Process

Anger perception, caregivers' use of physical discipline, and aggression in children at risk

Social Development

Gender differences in adolescents' daily interpersonal events and well-being

Child Development

Are there “his” and “hers” types of interdependence? The implications of gender differences in collective versus relational interdependence for affect, behavior, and cognition

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review

Psychological Bulletin

Parent discipline practices in an international sample: Associations with child behaviors and moderation by perceived normativeness

Child Development

Child, maternal, and family characteristics associated with spanking

Family Relations

Impact of parental discipline methods on the child's internalization of values: A reconceptualization of current points of view

Developmental Psychology

Toward a developmental–contextual model of the effects of parental spanking on children's aggression

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine

Corporal punishment and kids: How do parent support and gender influence child adjustment?

Journal of Family Violence