Citation

Roche KM, Ghazarian SR, Little TD, Leventhal T. J. Res. Adolesc. 2011; 21(2): 448-460.

Affiliation

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room 4533, Baltimore, MD 21205. kroche@jhsph.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00681.x

PMID

21647241

PMCID

PMC3107513

Abstract

There is considerable debate regarding the extent to which punitive parenting adversely impacts youth well being. Using an ecological-transactional model of human development, we examined reciprocity and contextual variability in associations between maternal punitive discipline and adolescent adjustment among 1,147 low-income, urban youth followed through adolescence. Longitudinal SEM results indicated that delinquency and depressive symptoms during pre- and early adolescence (Time 1) were associated with increased punitive discipline about a year later (Time 2). When mothers reported less Time 2 neighborhood disorder, punitive discipline at Time 2 was associated with increased delinquency (for boys) and depressive symptoms (for girls) during mid- to late adolescence (Time 3). The costs of punitive discipline for adolescent adjustment are best understood considering the dynamic, transactional, and contextual nature of development.

Language: en