Cumulative Exposure to Harsh Discipline at Home and School on Child Development: Evidence from Ghana

• In Event: Child, school climate, and social emotional learning in LMICs

Proposal

Background: Violence against children is harmful to their development. Although evidence on children’s exposure in low- and middle-income countries is emerging, it remains limited in sub-Saharan Africa. Ghana ranks first globally in violent discipline, with 93% of children aged 1–14 experiencing some form of violence from adults (Department of Children, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection & UNICEF Ghana, 2018). Yet little is known about the developmental consequences of such practices in this context, particularly the effects of cumulative exposure at home and school across time (Evans et al., 2023). Grounded in the theory of toxic stress and human neurobiology on cognitive development, this study examines the associations and interactions between cumulative harsh discipline at home and school and Ghanaian children’s higher-order cognitive skills. Specifically, we address three research questions:
1) Does cumulative harsh discipline at home and school over three years predict Ghanaian children’s academic and EF skills?
2) Do these relations differ between boys and girls and younger (5-7 years old) and older (8-10 years old) age groups?
3) Does cumulative harsh discipline at school moderate the association between cumulative harsh discipline at home and child outcomes?

Methods: Our sample is drawn from a longitudinal sample of 663 children (Mage = 6.94 years; 50% girls) in peri-urban Ghana across three years (2016-2018). Multivariate OLS regression models, controlled for sociodemographics and baseline outcomes, were used. Missing data were handled via multiple imputation by chained equations.

Results: Cumulative harsh discipline at home significantly predicted lower academic scores (𝛽 = -0.045, SE = 0.022, p <.05), but not EF, while cumulative harsh discipline at school was not a significant predictor of either outcome. Child sex marginally moderated the association between cumulative harsh discipline at home and EF (p <.10). ​There was no evidence for moderation by child age.
There was a marginally statistically significant interaction term between cumulative harsh discipline at home and at school predicting children’s EF (p <.10). Children with low exposure to harsh discipline at both home and school had the highest EF. Under high discipline at school, EF did not differ by home discipline levels (𝛽 = 0.014, SE = 0.042, p = .734). Under low discipline at school, higher levels of home discipline significantly predicted lower EF (𝛽 = -0.084, SE = 0.041, p = .041).

Discussion: Our study contributes to providing critical and novel evidence to global efforts to end violence against children. Effective family interventions must facilitate discourse around non-violent discipline at home, acknowledging cultural norms while promoting positive, strengths-based parenting approaches through positive elements of the Ghanaian culture. It is also critical to provide more information to teachers about the use of non-violent discipline and ensure the enforcement of the national policy banning corporal punishment in schools. Future policy and practice should provide culturally relevant caregiving resources for parents and teachers, encourage non-violent disciplinary practices across settings, and guide international efforts to create safe, nurturing home and classroom environments for children.

Authors

• Hang Heather Do, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania

• Yujie Fu

• Sharon Wolf