Harsh Parental Discipline, Parent-Child Attachment, and Peer Attachment in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Harsh Parental Discipline, Parent-Child Attachment, and Peer Attachment in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence Fang Wang1 Meifang Wang2 Tianzi Wang2 Zhengyan Wang1 ●
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Accepted: 8 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This research aimed to examine the relations among harsh discipline (including psychological aggression and corporal punishment), parent-child attachment, and peer attachment. More specifically, two mediation models (one for psychological aggression, one for corporal punishment) were investigated in which father-child attachment and mother-child attachment were hypothesized to mediate the relations between both paternal and maternal harsh discipline and peer attachment. In addition, differences across gender of the mediation model were examined. Participants were 668 children in grades four to eight and both their parents in China. The Chinese version of Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC) and the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) were used as the main assessment tools to measure parental use of harsh discipline, parent-child attachment, and peer attachment. Findings revealed that the direct path from neither fathers’ nor mothers’ harsh discipline to peer attachment was significant. Harsh discipline by one parent was indirectly related to peer attachment through the attachment between this parent and the child, but not through the attachment between his/her spouse and the child. In addition, the direct and indirect relations between harsh parental discipline and peer attachment did not differ across child gender. The findings provided an important supplement and extension to previous examinations of the factors associated with peer attachment and its mechanisms. In addition, the results also suggested the need for intervention programs aiming at improving children’s peer relationships to take the parenting and parent-child relationships into account. Keywords Harsh parental discipline Parent-child attachment Peer attachment Gender differences Late childhood and early adolescence ●
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Highlights The direct effects of harsh parental discipline on peer attachment were not significant. ● Harsh discipline by one parent was indirectly related to peer attachment through the attachment between this parent and the child, but not through the attachment between his/her spouse and the child. ● The direct and indirect relations between harsh parental discipline and peer attachment did not differ across child gender. ●
Peer attachment is generally defined as an enduring affectional bond that individuals form with peers, and it is thought to serve numerous functions, including the
* Meifang Wang [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Research Center for Child Development, Capital Normal University, Beijing, P. R. China
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Research Center for Child Development, College of Elementary Education, Capital Normal University, Beijing, P.
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