Parental Harsh Discipline and Preschooler’s Inhibitory Control in China: Bidirectional Relations and Gender Differences

Abstract

The goals of this study were to examine the bidirectional associations between parental harsh discipline and Chinese preschool children’s inhibitory control and to further explore the possible gender differences in these associations. Participants were Chinese preschool children and their parents. At Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2), both fathers and mothers, respectively, reported their use of psychological aggression and corporal punishment, and children’s inhibitory control was assessed by laboratory tasks and maternal rating. Structural equation modeling revealed that child inhibitory control significantly predicted both paternal and maternal psychological aggression and corporal punishment 1 year later, but the predictions from both types of parental harsh discipline to child inhibitory control were nonsignificant. Multiple-group analyses further suggested that boys’ but not girls’ inhibitory control could significantly predict paternal corporal punishment 1 year later, and no child gender differences existed for parental psychological aggression or for maternal corporal punishment. The findings suggest that the longitudinal associations between parental hash discipline and preschool children’s inhibitory control in China may differ according to the types of harsh discipline and parental and children’s gender.

The Effects of Weapon Toys on Aggressive Behavior among Chinese Children: The Mediating Role of Aggressive Cognition

“…Gender-differentiated parenting greatly affects children's socialization from traditional Chinese cultures (Ngai et al, 2018). For example, prior research has demonstrated that parents are more likely to adopt strict strategies to discipline males even when they exhibit the same misconducts as females (Cui & Lan, 2020;Xing et al, 2019). Previous research has shown that direct aggression (e.g., physical) is more common in males than females across cultures, and aggression occurs during early childhood because of sexual selection and social role (Archer, 2004).…”

The Associations of Parental Harsh Discipline, Adolescents’ Gender, and Grit Profiles With Aggressive Behavior Among Chinese Early Adolescents

“…For instance, they are more prone to achieving manhood through a process of distancing femininity from themselves and maintaining a hierarchy of social superiority of masculinity (D'Urso and Pace, 2019). Second, influenced by traditional Chinese culture, gender-differentiated parenting still strongly impacts Chinese adolescent's socialization (Ngai et al, 2018;Xing et al, 2019). For instance, Xing et al (2019) have demonstrated that parents are more likely to use strict strategies to discipline boys even when they exhibit the same misbehaviors as girls.…”

“…Second, influenced by traditional Chinese culture, gender-differentiated parenting still strongly impacts Chinese adolescent's socialization (Ngai et al, 2018;Xing et al, 2019). For instance, Xing et al (2019) have demonstrated that parents are more likely to use strict strategies to discipline boys even when they exhibit the same misbehaviors as girls. Third, Chinese fathers often take more responsibility in disciplining their sons but leave the parenting of daughters to mothers (Ho, 1986); that is, adolescents usually spend more time with their same-gender parent.…”

“…Third, Chinese fathers often take more responsibility in disciplining their sons but leave the parenting of daughters to mothers (Ho, 1986); that is, adolescents usually spend more time with their same-gender parent. Thus, it is conceivable that parents have more opportunities to discipline their samegender children, and parental harsh discipline may be more likely to trigger misbehaviors for same-gender adolescents (Xing et al, 2019).…”

A longitudinal investigation of the effects of parental discipline strategies on social competence in early childhood

“…Other studies examined links between non-physical discipline methods and effects (LeCuyer et al, 2011;Ma et al, 2022) and demonstrated that non-physical discipline reduced the risk of harmful outcomes and increased prosocial behaviors and social skills, especially in young children over time (Yu et al, 2018). While these studies identified parental discipline as a significant predictor of behavioral outcomes in children (LeCuyer et al, 2011), more recent studies add support for the reciprocal or bidirectional nature of these effects (Xing et al, 2021), thus supporting our approach to exploring the bidirectional impact of parental discipline in the study.…”