Abstract
Dysfunctional discipline has been linked with a variety of negative outcomes in children and is positively correlated with parent-reported stress. Furthermore, parental attributions have been supported as a mediator of the relation between stress and dysfunctional discipline. Race/ethnicity may additionally play a moderating role in these pathways, and racial/ethnic differences in parenting practices are often noted. This study examined a moderated-mediational model in which specific parental attributions (i.e., Stable, Internal, and Blaming/Intentional) mediated the association between parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline (i.e., Lax, Overreactive, and Hostile). Race/ethnicity was examined as a moderator of the association between parental attributions and dysfunctional discipline in a sample of 234 low-income adult caregivers at high-risk of child maltreatment. Overall, Stable and Blaming/Intentional attributions were found to explain the pathway between parent-reported stress and both Overreactivity and Hostility. Furthermore, race/ethnicity functioned as a differential moderator. Among Hispanic caregivers, the pathways to both Overreactivity and Hostility were explained by Stable attributions. Conversely, within the African American caregivers, only Blaming/Intentional attributions served as a mediator for Overreactivity and Hostility. Finally, among Caucasian caregivers, Stable attributions only explained Hostile discipline practices, while Blaming/Intentional attributions served as the pathway for both Overreactivity and Hostility. These findings provide the literature with a broader understanding of parent-reported stress and dysfunctional discipline and suggest different attributional treatment targets for caregivers from different racial/ethnic groups.
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Author Contributions
E.B.C.: Assisted in data analysis, edited the manuscript, and wrote the discussion section, as well as portions of the literature review and method sections. A.A.: Analyzed the data, assisted in editing the manuscript, and wrote the results section, and portions of the literature review and method sections. M.A.: Collaborated with the design of the study. L.T.: Designed and executed the study, and collaborated in the editing of the final manuscript. A.V.: Designed and executed the study, and collaborated in the editing of the manuscript.
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This study was funded by the Administration for Children and Families, Grant #90CA1773.
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Ethical approval was obtained from the relevant community mental health agency (name withheld for confidentiality reasons) and Sam Houston State University Institutional Review Boards. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Ball Cooper, E., Abate, A., Airrington, M.D. et al. When and How Do Race/Ethnicity Relate to Dysfunctional Discipline Practices?. J Child Fam Stud 27, 966–978 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0931-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0931-1