Professional Documents
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Author(s): Christina M. Rodriguez
Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Nov., 2003), pp. 809-817
Published by: National Council on Family RelationsNational Council on Family Relations
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3599892
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CHRISTINA
M. RODRIGUEZ University of Utah
ParentalDisciplineandAbusePotentialAffectson Child
Depression,Anxiety,andAttributions
punishment.The risk factorsare consideredsim- the disciplineexperiencedby the child, the more
ilar for both child physical abuse and physical aggressivelythe child behaves (i.e., externalizing
punishment(Straus,1983).Consequently,it is im- behaviorproblems;Weiss,Dodge, Bates,& Pettit,
portantto ascertainwhetherthe effects of physical 1992), althoughthese researchersdid not find a
abuse and physicaldisciplineoverlap. relationshipbetweenphysicaldisciplineandinter-
To date, the evidence indicatesthatchild mal- nalizing behaviorproblems.Anotherstudy sup-
treatmentis characterizedas detrimentalto vic- porteddisciplineas a significantpredictorof be-
tims, resultingin both short-termand long-term havior problems in children (Brenner& Fox,
sequelae in psychosocialand cognitive function- 1998). One dissertationindicatedhigher depres-
ing (e.g., Fantazzo, 1990; Starr& Wolfe, 1991). sion andanxietysymptomsfor thosechildrencat-
Thus physicallyabusedchildrenare more likely egorizedin high disciplinerisk groups(Dingwall,
than nonabused children to demonstratesuch 1997).
characteristicsas oppositionality,behaviorprob- Yet noticeablymoreresearch,as well as public
lems, depression,fearfulness,social withdrawal, discussion,has centeredon the influenceof phys-
and lower self-esteem.For example,abusedchil- ical disciplineleadingto aggressiveand external-
drenwerefoundto be morelikely to displayhigh- izing behaviorproblemsvia social learning.The
er levels of depressivesymptomatologyandhope- preponderance of researchliteratureties corporal
lessnessas well as lowerlevels of self-esteemthan punishmentto aggressivebehavior(e.g., Straus,
comparisongroups (Kazdin, Moser, Colbus, & 2001b), whereasthe associationof physicalpun-
Bell, 1985). Another study confirmedincreased ishmentwith internalizingproblemsremainsless
depression and hopelessness in children with apparentin the literature.Althoughthe connection
abuse historiesas well as a tendencytowardan between physical discipline and aggression is
external locus of control (Allen & Tarnowski, clearlymeaningfulto both family and society,re-
1989). Moreover,a more maladaptive,depresso- searchcontinuesto overlookits associationwith
genic attributionalstyle was reportedfor abused the emotionallife of the child. Anecdotally,we
children (Cerezo & Frias, 1994). Thus children hear of children'ssubjectivereportsof distressat
who are victims of abuse display many signs re- physicaldiscipline(e.g., Willow & Hyder,1998),
flective of internalizingdisorders. although actual empiricalresearchinvestigating
Some indications in the research, however, the child's internal experience of discipline is
pointto negativeoutcomesensuingfromcorporal lacking.
punishmentin the absence of parentalbehaviors Whereasboth child and adolescentboys re-
injuriousenoughto qualifyas abusive(e.g., Straus portedly demonstratemore disruptivebehavior
& Kantor,1994). Childmaltreatment researchhas and externalizingdifficultiescomparedwith girls
often relied on researchdesigns that assess chil- (e.g., Crijnen,Achenbach,& Verhulst,1997),sev-
dren afterthe fact when confirmedabuse has al- eral studies of prepubertalchildrenhave not de-
readyoccurred.Retrospectiveresearchstrategies, tected gender differencesin depressionor attri-
however,are typicallysubjectto recallbiasesand butional style (e.g., Joiner & Wagner, 1995;
errors. It remains unclear whether problematic Thompson,Kaslow, Weiss, & Nolen-Hoeksema,
symptomsmanifestedin some abusedchildrenac- 1998). Indeed,an interestingline of inquiryhas
tually appearin nonclinicalsamples of children begunto investigatethe emergenceof genderdif-
who have receivedless seriousforms of parental ferencesin depressionandanxietyduringadoles-
aggression,such as physical punishment.Theo- cence (Hayward& Sanborn,2002). Thus, com-
retically, some of the emotionaland behavioral paringthe internalizingprocessesfor prepubertal
difficultiesassociatedwith physical child abuse boys andgirls growingup withharshphysicaldis-
may develop primarilyas a functionof parents' ciplinarianswould be meaningful.
harsherdisciplinarystyles and attitudes.Thusthe Some componentsof the internalizingdomain
difficultiesexperiencedby childrenmay differde- mirroringthose drawn from the child maltreat-
pendingon whetherthey grow up with morever- mentliterature(includingdepression,anxiety,and
sus less physicaldiscipline. attributionalstyle) may be particularlyimportant
Researchhas indeed supporteda relationship to investigatein childrenreceivingphysicalpun-
betweenchildhoodhistoryof harshdisciplineand ishment. Although some researchhas included
adultpsychopathology(Holmes& Robins, 1988), symptomsof depressionand anxiety, depresso-
althoughby using retrospectiveresearchdesigns. genic attributionalstyle-a risk factorfor depres-
Anotherstudydemonstratedthatthe more severe sion as conceptualizedby Abramsonand col-
Parental Discipline and Child Functioning 811
TABLE 2. MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS FOR TOTAL SAMPLE AND BY GROUPS AND GROUP DIFFERENCES ON
CHILD REPORT MEASURES (N = 42)
Total Sample High CAPI Low CAPI High Practices Low Practices
M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD) M (SD)
CDI total 9.29 (6.50) 11.86 (6.03) 6.71 (6.03)** 11.38 (7.76) 7.19 (4.14)*
CMAS-R total 50.00 (11.14) 55.24 (8.93) 44.76 (10.81)*** 54.05 (11.83) 45.95 (8.94)**
CASQ Negative total 4.57 (4.49) 8.29 (2.87) 7.71 (2.70) 8.05 (2.60) 7.95 (2.99)
Positive total 12.69 (3.29) 11.76 (3.24) 13.62 (3.15) 12.38 (2.60) 13.00 (3.91)
Internaltotal 7.98 (1.94) 7.29 (1.42) 8.67 (2.17)** 7.90 (1.55) 8.05 (2.31)
CAPI Abuse scale 100.38 (89.67)
Discipline practicesi 67.22 (21.17)
Note: CAPI = Child Abuse PotentialInventory;CDI = Children'sDepressionInventory;CMAS-R = Children'sManifest
Anxiety Scale-Revised; CASQ = Children'sAttributionalStyle Questionnaire.
aMeanscore based on weighted sum across 12 scenarios.
*p? -.05. **'p - .01. ***p <- .001.
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