Poster #68 - Recollections of Childhood Disciplinary Experiences: Associations with Current Parent-Child Attachment and Psychosocial Adjustment

• In Event: Poster Session 13

Abstract

Background
Childhood exposure to harsh discipline such as psychological and physical aggression has been consistently associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, including internalizing and externalizing problems (e.g., De Zoysa et al., 2010; Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff et al., 2016). Harsh discipline experienced during childhood reported by adults is also related to psychosocial maladjustment (Ferguson et al., 2008; Miller-Perrin et al., 2009). A past study underscored the unique role of youth’s recollections of childhood harsh discipline, such that their subjective recollections might be more pivotal than their parents’ actual use (Gunnoe, 2013). Yet the mechanism underlying the association between one’s recollections of childhood harsh discipline and current psychosocial outcomes remains unclear. Prior research indicated that adult attachment style in intimate relationships mediates the association between childhood maltreatment and risky behaviors during adulthood (Oshri et al., 2015). Nonetheless, specific parent-child attachment has been less studied. Considering harsh discipline occurs between the parent and the child, parent-child attachment may provide a more nuanced picture, given that fearful emotions and feeling of helplessness evoked from harsh discipline may erode parent-child connectedness (Gershoff, 2002). This is evidenced by past studies that found a negative association between harsh discipline and parent-child attachment (Wang et al., 2021).

Objectives
The present research will be a cross-sectional study examining young adults’ recollections of childhood harsh discipline and how these subjective perceptions influence their psychosocial adjustment. We propose parent-child attachment as a mediator for this association. The study will be conducted in the Singaporean context, wherein physical punishment on children ¬¬is not prohibited (End Corporal Punishment, 2022) and considered as acceptable by 78% Singaporean adults in a survey (Lui et al., 2019). Harsh discipline may or may not have similar negative implication in cultural context where it is perceived as normative and appropriate by parents and children (Deater-Deckard & Dodge, 1997; Gershoff et al., 2010). Hence, a negative link between recollections of childhood harsh discipline and psychosocial outcomes found in the current study might highlight its potential harm across different cultural contexts.

Preregistered Hypotheses
It is hypothesized that recollections of frequent childhood harsh discipline (i.e., psychological aggression, physical punishment) will be associated with current psychosocial maladjustment (i.e., externalizing and internalizing problems) and insecure attachment. Moreover, their current parent-child attachment will mediate the association between recollections of harsh discipline and psychosocial maladjustment.

Participants and Methods
Participants will be 400 Singaporean young adults completing a battery of questionnaires to assess their recollections of childhood disciplinary experiences using Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus et al., 1998), attachment towards parent using Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), and psychosocial adjustment using Adult Self-Report Questionnaire (Achenbach, 2003, 2013). Externalizing problems and internalizing problems scale scores derived from Adult Self-Report Questionnaire will be used to assess individual’s psychosocial adjustment.

Preregistered Analyses
Path analyses will be conducted to examine the direct path between recollections of childhood harsh discipline and psychosocial adjustment, as well as the mediating role of parent-child attachment (See Figure 1). We will examine two separate models, for paternal and maternal discipline each.

Authors

• Ying Qing Won, Nanyang Technological University
  Presenting Author

• Mioko Sudo, Nanyang Technological University

• Peipei Setoh, Nanyang Technological University