Differentiating corporal punishment from physical abuse in the prediction of lifetime aggression

Corporal punishment and parental physical abuse often co‐occur during upbringing, making it difficult to differentiate their selective impacts on psychological functioning. Associations between corporal punishment and a number of lifetime aggression indicators were examined in this study after efforts to control the potential influence of various forms of co‐occurring maltreatment (parental physical abuse, childhood sexual abuse, sibling abuse, peer bullying, and observed parental violence). College students (N = 1,136) provided retrospective self‐reports regarding their history of aggression and levels of exposure to childhood corporal punishment and maltreatment experiences. Analyses focused on three hypotheses: 1) The odds of experiencing childhood physical abuse would be higher among respondents reporting frequent corporal punishment during upbringing; 2) Corporal punishment scores would predict the criterion aggression indices after control of variance associated with childhood maltreatment; 3) Aggression scores would be higher among respondents classified in the moderate and elevated corporal punishment risk groups. Strong support was found for the first hypothesis since the odds of childhood physical abuse recollections were higher (OR = 65.3) among respondents who experienced frequent (>60 total disciplinary acts) corporal punishment during upbringing. Partial support was found for the second and third hypotheses. Dimensional and categorical corporal punishment scores were associated significantly with half of the criterion measures. These findings support efforts to dissuade reliance on corporal punishment to manage child behavior.

     

Prospective linkages between peer victimization and externalizing problems in children: a meta-analysis

Previous meta-analytic research has shown both concurrent and prospective linkages between peer victimization and internalizing problems in youth. However, the linkages between peer victimization and externalizing problems over time have not been systematically examined, and it is therefore unknown if externalizing problems are antecedents of victimization, consequences of victimization, both, or neither. This study provides a meta-analysis of 14 longitudinal studies examining prospective linkages between peer victimization and externalizing problems (n = 7,821). Two prospective paths were examined: the extent to which peer victimization at baseline predicts future residualized changes in externalizing problems, as well as the extent to which externalizing problems at baseline predict future residualized changes in peer victimization. Results revealed significant associations between peer victimization and subsequent residualized changes in externalizing problems, as well as significant associations between externalizing problems and subsequent residualized changes in peer victimization. Hence, externalizing problems function as both antecedents and consequences of peer victimization.     

Physical punishment and childhood aggression: the role of gender and gene-environment interplay

A large body of research has linked spanking with a range of adverse outcomes in children, including aggression, psychopathology, and criminal involvement. Despite evidence concerning the association of spanking with antisocial behavior, not all children who are spanked develop antisocial traits. Given the heterogeneous effects of spanking on behavior, it is possible that a third variable may condition the influence of corporal punishment on child development. We test this possibility using data drawn from a nationally representative dataset of twin siblings. Our findings suggest that genetic risk factors condition the effects of spanking on antisocial behavior. Moreover, our results provide evidence that the interaction between genetic risk factors and corporal punishment may be particularly salient for males.     

Predicting the use of corporal punishment: Child aggression,parent religiosity,and the BDNF gene

Corporal punishment (CP) has been associated with deleterious child outcomes, highlighting the importance of understanding its underpinnings. Although several factors have been linked with parents’ CP use, genetic influences on CP have rarely been studied, and an integrative view examining the interplay between different predictors of CP is missing. We focused on the separate and joint effects of religiosity, child aggression, parent's gender, and a valine (Val) to methionine (Met) substitution in the brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene. Data came from a twin sample (51% male, aged 6.5 years). We used mothers’ and fathers’ self‐reports of CP and religiosity, and the other parent's report on child aggression. Complete data were available for 244 mothers and their 466 children, and for 217 fathers and their 409 children. The random split method was employed to examine replicability. For mothers, only the effect of religiosity appeared to replicate. For fathers, several effects predicting CP use replicated in both samples: child aggression, child sex, religiosity, and a three‐way (GxExE) interaction implicating fathers’ BDNF genotype, child aggression and religiosity. Religious fathers who carried the Met allele and had an aggressive child used CP more frequently; in contrast, secular fathers’ CP use was not affected by their BDNF genotype or child aggression. Results were also repeated longitudinally in a subsample with age 8–9 data. Findings highlight the utility of a bio‐ecological approach for studying CP use by shedding light on pertinent gene‐environment interaction processes. Possible implications for intervention and public policy are discussed.

     

Parent,child, and contextual predictors of childhood physical punishment

Data gathered over the course of an 18‐year longitudinal study of 1025 New Zealand children were used to: (a) develop a profile of the maternal, child, and contextual factors associated with differing levels of exposure to maternal physical punishment, and (b) identify the key predictors of maternal physical punishment as reported by young people at age 18. Results revealed the presence of clear linear associations between the extent of young people's reported exposure to physical punishment and a wide range of maternal, child, and contextual factors. The key predictors of physical punishment suggested that the psychosocial profile of those mothers at greatest risk of physically punishing or mistreating their child was that of a young woman with a personal history of strict parenting who entered motherhood at an early age, and who was attempting to parent a behaviourally difficult child within a dysfunctional family environment characterized by elevated rates of inter‐parental violence and childhood sexual abuse. These findings were consistent with a cumulative risk factor model in which increasing risk factor exposure is associated with increasing levels of child physical punishment/maltreatment. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Negative parenting and functions of relational aggression: The moderating roles of gender and physiological reactivity

Dimensions of negative parenting, including permissive, authoritarian, and psychologically controlling parenting behaviors, are associated with children's engagement in relational aggression. However, some youth may be more strongly influenced by negative parenting than others, and effects may depend on whether aggression is proactive or reactive in function. In a community sample of 236 preadolescent children followed over 1 year, we examined whether children's skin conductance level reactivity (an index of “fight or flight” response) and gender moderated links between parents' self-reported negative parenting behaviors and increases in children's teacher-reported proactive and reactive relational aggression. Findings indicated that negative parenting predicted increases in proactive and reactive relational aggression, and, consistent with differential susceptibility theory, effects often emerged among highly reactive youth. Associations between negative parenting and proactive relational aggression emerged for boys but not girls. Results tentatively suggest that associations between parenting and aggression vary by the function of aggression, children's physiological reactivity to stress, and gender, although results should be interpreted with caution due to high levels of missing data. Implications for theory and intervention are discussed.     

The development of social aggression and physical aggression: A narrative analysis of interpersonal conflicts

Using conflict narratives reported by children and adolescents, this study investigated the development and social functions of social aggression in comparison to physical aggression. A total of 510 participants in two cohorts of a longitudinal study were involved (116 girls and 104 boys from Grade 4 and155 girls and 135 boys from Grade 7). Patterns of social aggression and physical aggression were identified based on interview reports in the first year of the study. Results showed that a triadic structure of social relationship was often reported in conflicts where social aggression was employed, whereas a dyadic structure was reported in conflicts involving physical aggression. Girls tended to use social aggression against girls, whereas boys tended to use physical aggression against boys. Children and adolescents who were central in peer social networks were more likely to employ social aggression than those who were peripheral in the networks. Social aggression was not reliably linked to concurrent or future problematic adjustment. Physical aggression, however, was not related to network centrality but was linked to concurrent and future maladjustment (e.g., low academic competence and school dropout). Aggr. Behav. 28:341–355, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Preadolescents' borderline personality features in a non‐Western urban context: Concurrent and longitudinal associations with physical and relational aggression,friendship exclusivity and peer victimization

The present study examined children's borderline personality features and their association with developmentally appropriate factors, including friendship exclusivity, forms of aggression and peer maltreatment with a non‐Western urban sample. The participants consisted of 234 Japanese preadolescents who were in the fourth and fifth grade (50% girls; ages: 9–11). Results of correlational analyses show that borderline personality features were stable during a six‐month period (r = 0.55). Moreover, results of mixed linear models indicate that friendship exclusivity was associated with elevated borderline personality features concurrently and longitudinally, after controlling for the effects of physical and relational aggression. Physical aggression (not relational aggression) and physical victimization (not relational victimization) also predicted relative increases in borderline personality features. These findings are discussed from a cultural‐developmental perspective.     

The effects of viewing physical and relational aggression in the media: Evidence for a cross-over effect

Research has shown that viewing violence in the media can have a profound impact on aggressive thoughts and behaviors. However, the impact of viewing relational aggression in the media has rarely been examined. This paper presents the results of an experimental study that examines the impact of viewing relational and physical aggression in the media on subsequent aggression. In this study, adult females were shown video clips containing no-aggression, relational aggression, or physical aggression. Their aggressive behavior was measured through the use of a competitive reaction time task (physical aggression) and evaluations of a confederate of the experiment (relational aggression). As a whole, participants viewing either relational or physical aggression behaved similarly. Specifically, participants who viewed either type of aggression were subsequently more physically and relationally aggressive than those who viewed the non-aggressive clip. The results show evidence for a generalization effect of viewing media aggression, in that viewing one form of aggression can influence the manifestation of other forms. This is the first study to show that viewing relational aggression in the media can increase subsequent physical aggression. Implications for parents, media producers, and policy makers are discussed.     

童年晚期至青少年早期攻击和同伴侵害的关系:交叉滞后研究

采用整群抽样法抽取2178名小学生为被试（平均年龄11.05±0.69岁,男生1132人）自5年级追踪至8年级,通过纵向交叉滞后模型对攻击与同伴侵害间的关系进行考察。结果发现,各年级关系攻击均可预测之后的关系侵害,7年级身体攻击预测8年级身体侵害,此外6年级关系侵害经历对7年级关系攻击具有预测作用。攻击与同伴侵害间的纵向联系不存在性别差异。这些结果表明,童年晚期至青少年早期攻击与同伴侵害之间总体上符合连续性社交过程模型,即攻击对随后的同伴侵害具有更明显预测作用,但在小学升初中的学校过渡阶段关系侵害预测随后的关系攻击,部分支持两者间存在双向关系。该结果提示需关注儿童青少年的攻击与同伴侵害经历,采取措施避免其陷入攻击与同伴侵害间的恶性循环之中。     

Pathways to behavior problems in Norwegian kindergarten children: The role of parent emotion socialization and child emotion understanding

More than two decades of research have shown that parental emotion-related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) significantly predict child emotion understanding and externalizing behavior problems. This study aimed to replicate these findings in a sample of 40 Norwegian preschool children and to test whether the effect of parental ERSBs on externalizing child behavior problems was mediated through child emotion understanding. Parental report on ERSBs was obtained using the Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale (CCNES) questionnaire. Child emotion understanding was assessed directly using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). The results showed that parental distress reactions and externalizing child behavior problems were significantly correlated and that parental expressive encouragement was significantly correlated with child emotion understanding. Estimation of indirect effects was conducted using process analysis and showed that parental expressive encouragement was indirectly related to externalizing child behavior problems (b = −0.17) via child emotion understanding. The results suggest that better child emotion understanding, and lower parental distress are related to lower levels of behavior problems in preschool children. These findings provide support for the Parental Meta-Emotion Philosophy (PMEP) model, where the effect of parental emotion socialization on externalizing child behavior problems is mediated through emotion understanding.     

Reactive and proactive aggression: predictions to physical violence in different contexts and moderating effects of parental monitoring and caregiving behavior

This study aimed at (a) comparing the links of proactive and reactive aggression at 13 years of age to delinquency-related violence and dating violence at ages 16 and 17, and (b) examining the moderating effects of parental supervision, and mother's and father's warmth and caregiving behaviors on these links. Based on a sample of 525 Caucasian boys, the results showed that proactive aggression uniquely predicted delinquency-related violence, whereas reactive aggression uniquely predicted later dating violence. The relation between proactive aggression and delinquency-related violence, however, was moderated by parental supervision. The relation between reactive aggression and dating violence was moderated by mother's warmth and caregiving behavior. The implications of the findings for the theoretical and practical distinction between proactive and reactive aggression are discussed.