Children and Youth Services Review, 34(4), April 2012, pp.783-789.
Publisher:
Elsevier
Differences in how adolescents and their parents perceive aspects of their relationships may reflect less optimal family functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of discrepancies between parent and youth reports of perceived parental monitoring in adolescent problem behaviours. The participants were a community sample of 850 youth and their parents from Santiago, Chile who
Differences in how adolescents and their parents perceive aspects of their relationships may reflect less optimal family functioning. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of discrepancies between parent and youth reports of perceived parental monitoring in adolescent problem behaviours. The participants were a community sample of 850 youth and their parents from Santiago, Chile who had been interviewed as part of an earlier study. Comparison of the youth and parent responses revealed that higher levels of discordance concerning parental monitoring predicted greater levels of maladaptive youth behaviours. A positive association between parent–youth discordance and externalising problems indicated that large adult-youth disagreement in parental monitoring may impose a great risk, despite protective efforts of parental monitoring. Although the direct relationship between parental monitoring and youth internalising behaviours was not significant, parent-youth incongruence in monitoring was associated with greater levels of internalising behaviours. The article concludes that differing assessments of parental behaviours may provide important information about youth maladjustment and provide a beginning point for family-focused intervention.
Subject terms:
parent-child relations, parenting, parents, young people, behaviour problems;
Objectives: Corporal punishment is still widely practiced around the globe, despite the large body of child development research that substantiates its short- and long-term consequences. Within this context, this paper examined the relationship between parental use of corporal punishment and youth externalising behaviour with a Chilean sample to add to the growing empirical evidence concerning the potential relationship between increased corporal punishment and undesirable youth outcomes across cultures.
Methods: Analysis was based on 919 adolescents in Santiago, Chile. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which parents’ use of corporal punishment and positive family measures were associated with youth externalising behaviour. Furthermore, the associations between self-reported externalising behaviour and infrequent, as well as frequent, use of corporal punishment were investigated to understand how varying levels of parental use of corporal punishment were differently related to youth outcomes.
Results: Both mothers’ and fathers’ use of corporal punishment were associated with greater youth externalising behaviour. Additionally, increases in positive parenting practices, such as parental warmth and family involvement, were met with decreases in youth externalising behaviour when controlling for youth demographics, family socioeconomic status, and parents’ use of corporal punishment. Finally, both infrequent and frequent use of corporal punishment were positively associated with higher youth problem behaviours, though frequent corporal punishment had a stronger relationship with externalising behaviour than did infrequent corporal punishment.
Conclusions: Parental use of corporal punishment, even on an occasional basis, is associated with greater externalising behaviour for youth while a warm and involving family environment may protect youth from serious problem behaviours. Therefore, findings of this study add to the growing evidence concerning the negative consequences of corporal punishment for youth outcomes.
(Publisher abstract)
Objectives: Corporal punishment is still widely practiced around the globe, despite the large body of child development research that substantiates its short- and long-term consequences. Within this context, this paper examined the relationship between parental use of corporal punishment and youth externalising behaviour with a Chilean sample to add to the growing empirical evidence concerning the potential relationship between increased corporal punishment and undesirable youth outcomes across cultures.
Methods: Analysis was based on 919 adolescents in Santiago, Chile. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the extent to which parents’ use of corporal punishment and positive family measures were associated with youth externalising behaviour. Furthermore, the associations between self-reported externalising behaviour and infrequent, as well as frequent, use of corporal punishment were investigated to understand how varying levels of parental use of corporal punishment were differently related to youth outcomes.
Results: Both mothers’ and fathers’ use of corporal punishment were associated with greater youth externalising behaviour. Additionally, increases in positive parenting practices, such as parental warmth and family involvement, were met with decreases in youth externalising behaviour when controlling for youth demographics, family socioeconomic status, and parents’ use of corporal punishment. Finally, both infrequent and frequent use of corporal punishment were positively associated with higher youth problem behaviours, though frequent corporal punishment had a stronger relationship with externalising behaviour than did infrequent corporal punishment.
Conclusions: Parental use of corporal punishment, even on an occasional basis, is associated with greater externalising behaviour for youth while a warm and involving family environment may protect youth from serious problem behaviours. Therefore, findings of this study add to the growing evidence concerning the negative consequences of corporal punishment for youth outcomes.
(Publisher abstract)