Dissertation
An examination of the relationship between harsh discipline in childhood, later punitiveness toward children and later ratings of adjustment
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Autumn 1981
DOI: 10.25820/etd.006429
Abstract
The present study was an investigation of the multigenerational hypothesis of child abuse, which suggests that abused children will become adults who abuse their own children. On the basis of responses to a questionnaire about childhood family experiences, five distinct groups of young adults from predominantly middle socioeconomic class families were identified: (1) adults who were abused in childhood and who labelled themselves abused; (2) adults who were abused in childhood but who did not label their disciplinary experiences abusive; (3) adults who were not abused in childhood but who had an abused sibling; (4) adults from nonabusive families who experienced mild physical discipline in childhood; (5) adults from nonabusive families who never experienced physical discipline. An interactive analogue disciplinary task was adopted to assess the disciplinary strategies utilized by the subjects and the amount of annoyance they experienced, when confronted with behavioral difficulties of five simulated children. Also, the level of depressed and fearful feelings experienced by the subjects was assessed. Based on the multigenerational hypothesis, it was expected that individuals who were abused or who had an abused sibling would use more physical discipline and sooner, and would yell and threaten more, than individuals from nonabusing families. It was also expected that subjects from abusive families would feel more annoyed with the children, and would report higher levels of depressed and fearful feelings than the subjects from nonabusive families.
The results of the present study did not support a simple multi- generational hypothesis of child abuse: the groups did not differ on the dependent variables in any of the overall analyses, and only a few planned comparisons showed statistically significant group differences, which was not beyond that which would be expected by chance. However, males reported significantly more annoyance than females, when confronted with difficult child behaviors, and tended to select more physical discipline choices in the analogue parenting task. Also, a significant positive correlation was obtained, across the entire sample, between how annoyed the subjects felt when confronted with difficult child behaviors and how much physical discipline they utilized with the children. These results are discussed.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- An examination of the relationship between harsh discipline in childhood, later punitiveness toward children and later ratings of adjustment
- Creators
- Audrey Marilyn Berger
- Contributors
- John F Knutson (Advisor) - University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain Sciences
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Psychology
- Date degree season
- Autumn 1981
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.006429
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- viii, 204 pages
- Copyright
- Posted with permission of the author.
- Language
- English
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-204).
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Thesis and Dissertation Archive
- Record Identifier
- 9984402358202771
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