Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effect of Corporal Punishment and Verbal Abuse on Delinquency: Mediating Mechanisms

  • Empirical Research
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While the link between parenting and delinquency is well established, there is less consensus among scholars with regards to the processes that account for this link. The current study had two objectives. The first was to disentangle the effects of African American parents’ use of corporal punishment and verbal abuse on the conduct problems of their preteen children. The second was to investigate the mechanisms that explain this relationship, such as having low self-control or a hostile view of relationships, whereby these harsh parenting practices increase a youth’s involvement in problem behavior. Further, we are interested in specifically addressing how these mechanisms may operate differently for males versus females. Analyses utilized structural equation modeling and longitudinal data spanning approximately 2.5 years from a sample of 704 (54.2 % female) African American children ages 10–12. The results indicated that verbal abuse was a more important predictor of conduct problems than corporal punishment. Additionally, we found that the mechanisms that mediated the impact of verbal abuse and corporal punishment on conduct problems varied by gender. For males, most of the effect of verbal abuse was mediated by low self-control, whereas anger/frustration was the primary mediator for females. Implications of these results and directions for future study are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agnew, R. (1985). A revised strain theory of delinquency. Social Forces, 64, 151–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Agnew, R. (1992). Foundation for a general strain theory of crime and delinquency. Criminology, 30, 47–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agnew, R. (2001). Building on the foundation of general strain theory: Specifying the types of strain most likely to lead to crime and delinquency. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 319–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agnew, R. (2006). Pressured into crime: An overview of general strain theory. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ainsworth, M. D., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. (1978). Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed., DSM-IV. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

  • Begle, A. M., Hanson, R. F., Danielson, C. K., McCart, M. R., Ruggiero, K. J., Amstader, A. B., et al. (2011). Longitudinal pathways of victimization, substance use, and delinquency: Findings from the National Survey of Adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 36, 682–689.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berkowitz, L. (1990). On the formation and regulation of anger and aggression: A cognitive-associationistic analysis. American Psychologist, 45, 494–503.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berlin, L. J., Ispa, J. M., Fine, M. A., Malone, P. S., Brooks-Gunn, J., Brady-Smith, C., et al. (2009). Correlates and consequences of spanking and verbal punishment for low-income white, African-American, and Mexican American toddlers. Child Development, 80, 1403–1420.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. (1969/1982). Attachment and Loss, vol. I, Attachment. New York: Basic Books.

  • Brezina, T. (1998). Adolescent maltreatment and delinquency: The question of intervening processes. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35, 71–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broidy, L. (2001). A test of general strain theory. Criminology, 39, 39–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Broidy, L. M., & Agnew, R. (1997). Gender and crime: A general strain theory perspective. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency, 34, 275–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie-Mizell, C. A., Pryor, E. M., & Grossman, E. R. B. (2008). Child depressive symptoms, spanking, and emotional support: Differences between African American and European American Youth. Family Relations, 57, 335–350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colvin, M. (2000). Crime and coercion: An integrated theory of chronic criminality. New York: St. Martins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., Conger, K. J., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., Simons, R. L., & Whitbeck, L. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and influences on adjustment of early childhood boys. Child Development, 63, 526–541.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. (1994). Families in troubled times: Adaptation to change in rural America. New York: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, R. D., Peterson, G. W., & McCracken, C. (1998). Predicting spanking of younger and older children by mothers and fathers. Journal of Marriage and Family, 60, 79–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., & Sorbring, E. (2005). Cultural differences in the effects of physical punishment. In M. Rutter & M. Tienda (Eds.), Ethnicity and causal mechanisms (pp. 204–226). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dietz, T. L. (2000). Disciplining children: Characteristics associated with the use of corporal punishment. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 1529–1542.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A. (1986). A social information processing model of social competence in children. In M. P. Perlmuter (Ed.), Minnesota symposium in child psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1990). Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science, 250, 1678–1683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., McLoyd, V. C., & Lansford, J. E. (2005). The cultural context of physically disciplining children. In V. C. McLoyd, N. E. Hill, & K. A. Dodge (Eds.), African American family life: Ecological and cultural diversity (pp. 243–263). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., & Pettit, G. S. (2003). A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 39, 349–371.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (1994). Effects of physical maltreatment on the development of peer relations. Development and Psychopathology, 6, 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., & Valente, E. (1995). Social information-processing patterns partially mediate the effect of early physical abuse on later conduct problems. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 632–643.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, S. B. G., & Eysenck, H. J. (1977). The place of impulsiveness and venturesomeness in a dimensional system of personality description. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 16, 57–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farrington, D. P., & Joliffe, D. (2010). Why are boys more likely to be referred to juvenile court? Gender differences in official and self-reported delinquency. Victims & Offenders, 5, 25–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behavior experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539–579.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, J. T. (1998). High-risk behaviors in African American youth: Conceptual and methodological issues in research. In V. C. McLoyd & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Studying minority adolescents: Conceptual, methodological and theoretical issues (pp. 263–287). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., Willis, M. J., and Brody, G. (2004). Perceived discrimination and substance use in African American parents and their children: A panel study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86, 517–529.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giles-Sims, J., Straus, M. A., & Sugarman, D. B. (1995). Child, maternal, and family characteristics associated with spanking. Family Relations, 44, 170–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giordano, P. C., Cernkovich, S. A., Rudolph, J. L. (2002). Gender, crime, and desistance: Toward a theory of cognitive transformation. American Journal of Sociology, 107, 990–1064.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grisso, T. (2004). Double Jeopardy: Adolescent offenders with mental disorders. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grogan-Kaylor, A., & Otis, M. D. (2007). The predictors of parental use of corporal punishment. Family Relations, 56, 80–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnoe, M. L., & Mariner, C. L. (1997). Toward a developmental-contextual model of the effects of parental spanking on children’s aggression. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 151, 768–775.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heimer, K., & De Coster, S. (1999). The gendering of violent delinquency. Criminology, 37, 277–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn, I. B., Joseph, J. G., & Cheng, T. L. (2004). Nonabusive physical punishment and child behavior among African-American children: A systematic review. Journal of the National Medical Association, 96, 1162–1168.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, S. J. (2007). Gender differences in strain, negative emotions, and coping behaviors: A General Strain Theory approach. Justice Quarterly, 24, 523–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, S. J., & Johnson, B. R. (2003). Strain, negative emotions, and deviant coping among African-Americans: A test of general stain theory. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 19, 79–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jang, S. J., & Johnson, B. R. (2005). Gender, religiosity, and reactions to strain among African-Americans. Sociological Quarterly, 46, 323–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman, J. M., Rebellon, C. J., Thaxton, S., & Agnew, R. (2008). A general strain theory of racial differences in criminal offending. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 17, 421–437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendall, P. C., & Williams, C. L. (1982). Assessing the cognitive and behavioral components of children’s self-management. In P. Karoly & F. H. Kanfer (Eds.), Self-management and behavior change. New York: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lansford, J. E., Criss, M. M., Laird, R. D., Shaw, D. S., Pettit, G. S., Bates, J. E., et al. (2011). Reciprocal relations between parents’ physical discipline and children’s externalizing behavior during middle childhood and adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 23, 225–238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansford, J. E., Deater-Deckard, K., Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (2004). Ethnic differences in the link between physical discipline and later adolescent externalizing behaviors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 801–812.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Malone, P. S., Bacchini, D., Zelli, A., Chaudhary, N., et al. (2005). Physical discipline and children’s adjustment: Cultural normativeness as a moderator. Child Development, 76, 1234–1246.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larzelere, K. (2000). Child outcomes of nonabusive and customary physical punishment by parents: An updated literature review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 3, 199–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larzelere, R. E., Sather, P. R., Schneider, W. N., Larson, D. B., & Pike, P. L. (1998). Punishment enhances reasoning’s effectiveness as a disciplinary response to toddlers. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 388–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loos, M. E., & Alexander, P. C. (1997). Differential effects associated with self-reported. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 340–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons-Ruth, K. (1996). Attachment relationships among children with aggressive behavior problems: The role of disorganized early attachment patterns. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 64–73.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons-Ruth, K., Connell, D. B., Grunebaum, H. U., & Botein, S. (1990). Infants at social risk: Maternal depression and family support services as mediators of infant development and security of attachment. Child Development, 61, 85–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lyons-Ruth, K., Repachyoli, B., McLeod, S., & Silva, E. (1991). Disorganized attachment behavior in infancy: Short-term stability, maternal and infant correlates and risk-related sub-types. Development and Psychopathology, 3, 377–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (1997). Violent responses to strain: An examination of conditioning influences. Violence and Victims, 12, 323–343.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mazerolle, P., & Piquero, A. (1998). Linking exposure to strain with anger: An investigation of deviant adaptations. Journal of Criminal Justice, 26, 195–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKee, L., Roland, E., Coffelt, N., Olson, A., Forehand, R., Massari, C., et al. (2007). Harsh discipline and child problem behaviors: The roles of positive parenting and gender. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 187–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLoyd, V. C., & Smith, J. (2002). Physical discipline and behavior problems in African American, European American, and Hispanic children: Emotional support as a moderator. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 40–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S., Malone, P. S., & Dodge, K. A. (2010). Developmental trajectories of boys’ and girls’ delinquency: Sex differences and links to later adolescent outcomes. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38, 1021–1032.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, S. Z., & Gibson, C. L. (2011). Corporal punishment’s influence on children’s aggressive and delinquent behavior. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38, 818–839.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthen, L. K., & Muthen, B. O. (1997–2008). Mplus (computer program). Los Angeles, CA: Muthen and Muthen.

  • Pagani, L., Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D., Zoccolillo, M., Vitaro, F., & McDuff, P. (2004). Risk factor models for adolescent verbal and physical aggression toward mothers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 528–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pagani, L., Tremblay, R. E., Nagin, D., Zoccolillo, M., Vitaro, F., & McDuff, P. (2009). Risk factor models for adolescent verbal and physical aggression toward fathers. Journal of Family Violence, 24, 173–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paolucci, E. O., & Violato, C. (2004). A meta-analysis of the published research on the affective, cognitive, and behavioral affects of corporal punishment. The Journal of Psychology, 138, 197–221.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pardini, D. A., Fite, P. J., & Burke, J. D. (2008). Bidirectional associations between parenting practices and conduct problems in boys from childhood to adolescence: The moderating effect of age and African American ethnicity. Journal of Abnormal and Child Psychology, 36, 647–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pardini, D. A., Lochman, J. E., & Powell, N. (1997). The development of callous-unemotional traits and antisocial behavior: Are there shared an/or unique predictors? Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 36, 319–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pettit, B., & Western, B. (2004). Mass Imprisonment and the life course. American Sociological Review, 69, 151–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, N. L., & Sealock, M. D. (2000). Generalizing general strain theory: An examination of an offending population. Justice Quarterly, 17, 449–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piquero, N. L. & Sealock, M. D. (2004). Gender and general strain theory: A preliminary test of Broidy & Agnew's gender/GST hypotheses. Justice Quarterly, 21, 125–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Piqureo, N. L., & Sealock, M. D. (2010). Race, crime, and general strain theory. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 8, 170–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regalado, M., Sareen, H., Inkelas, M., Wissow, L. S., & Halfon, N. (2004). Parents’ discipline of young children: Results from the National Survey of Early Childhood Health. Pediatrics, 113, 1952–1958.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbaum, F., & Weisz, J. R. (1994). Parental caregiving and child externalizing behavior in nonclinical samples: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 55–74.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schaffer, D., Schwab-Stone, M., Fisher, P., Cohen, P., Piacentini, J., Davies, M., et al. (1993). The Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Revised Version (DISC-R). Perparation, field testing, inter-rater reliability, and acceptability. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 643–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, J., & Rookey, B. D. (2008). The narrowing gender gap in arrests: Assessing competing explanations using self-report, traffic fatality, and official data on drunk driving, 1980–2004. Criminology, 46, 637–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Chao, W., Conger, R., & Elder, G. H. (2001). Quality of parenting as mediator of the effect of childhood defiance on adolescent friendship choices and delinquency: A growth curve analysis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 63–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Johnson, C., Conger, R., & Elder, G. H. (1998). A test of latent trait versus life course perspectives on the stability of adolescent antisocial behavior. Criminology, 36, 217–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Lin, K. H., Gordon, L. C., Brody, G., Murry, V., & Conger, R. D. (2002). Community contextual differences in the effect of parental behavior on child conduct problems: A multilevel analysis with an African-American sample. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 331–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons R. L., & Associates. (1996). Understanding differences between divorced and intact families: Stress, interaction, and child outcome. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

  • Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., Brody, G. H., & Cutrona, C. (2005). Collective efficacy, authoritative parenting, and delinquency: A longitudinal test of a model integrating community- and family-level processes. Criminology, 36, 217–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., Chen, Y. F., Brody, G. H., & Lin, K. H. (2007). Identifying the psychological factors that mediate the association between parenting and delinquency. Criminology, 45, 481–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., & Hancock, D. (2011). Linking family processes and delinquency: Issues, theories and research findings. In D. Bishop & B. Feld (Eds.), Handbook on juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., & Wallace, L. E. (2004). Families, delinquency, and crime: Linking society’s most basic institution to antisocial behavior. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stacks, A. M., Oshio, T., Gerard, J., & Roe, J. (2009). The moderating effect of parental warmth on the association between spanking and child aggression: A longitudinal approach. Infant and Child Development, 18, 178–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steffensmeier, D., Schwartz, J., Zhong, H., & Ackerman, J. (2005). An assessment of recent trends in girls’ violence using diverse longitudinal sources: Is the gender gap closing? Criminology, 43, 355–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straus, M. A. (1994). Beating the devil out of them: Physical punishment in American families. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Lexington Books.

  • Straus, M. A., & Stewart, J. H. (1999). Corporal punishment by American parents: National data on prevalence, chronicity, severity, and duration, in relation to child and family characteristics. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2, 55–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tittle, C. R., & Paternoster, R. (2000). Social deviance and crime: An organizational and theoretical approach. Los Angeles: Roxbury.

  • Vaish, A., Grossmann, T., & Woodward, A. (2008). Not all emotions are created equal: The negativity bias in social-emotional development. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 383–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vissing, Y. M., Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Harrop, J. W. (1991). Verbal aggression by parents and psychosocial problems of children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15, 223–230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, D. A., & McIsaac, C. (2011). Distinguishing between poor/dysfunctional parenting and child emotional maltreatment. Child Abuse and Neglect, 35, 802–813.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, M. O., Crawford, E., & Castillo, D. D. (2009). Childhood emotional maltreatment and later psychological distress among college students: The mediating role of maladaptive schemas. Child Abuse and Neglect, 33, 59–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH48165, MH62669) and the Center for Disease Control (029136-02). Additional funding for this project was provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Justice Studies, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA

    Sara Z. Evans

  2. Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Leslie Gordon Simons

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Ronald L. Simons

Authors
  1. Sara Z. Evans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Leslie Gordon Simons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ronald L. Simons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Z. Evans.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Evans, S.Z., Simons, L.G. & Simons, R.L. The Effect of Corporal Punishment and Verbal Abuse on Delinquency: Mediating Mechanisms. J Youth Adolescence 41, 1095–1110 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9755-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-012-9755-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation