Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cross-Generational Transmission of Aggressive Parent Behavior: A Prospective, Mediational Examination

  • Published:
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The intergenerational transmission of aggressive parenting behavior was examined within the context of a prospective longitudinal study of adolescent and young adult adjustment. Thirty-nine young adults (G2; 33 females, 6 males) who had participated in early phases of this study with their parents (G1) continued their involvement with their young children (G3; 17 females, 22 males, mean age = 2.6) several years later. Data included direct observation of parent–adolescent (G1–G2) and parent–child (G2–G3) interactions as well as self-reports. Analyses demonstrated directly observed cross-generational continuity in aggressive parenting from G1 to G2 some 6–7 years later. However, the results also showed that adolescent aggressive behavior served as the mediational link reducing the direct path from G1 to G2 aggressive parenting to nonsignificant levels. The results are consistent with a social interactional model of intergenerational continuity of parenting behavior.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991a). Manual for the child behavior checklist and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991b). Youth self report. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, J. A., Foster, S. L., Capaldi, D., & Hops, H. (2000). Adolescent and family predictors of physical aggression, communication, and satisfaction in young adult couples: A prospective analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 195-208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1999). Amos 4.0 user's guide. Chicago, IL: SmallWaters Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bardone, A. M., Moffitt, T. E., Caspi, A., Dickson, N., & Silva, P. A. (1996). Adult mental health and social outcomes of adolescent girls with depression and conduct disorder. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 811-829.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A process model. Child Development, 55, 83-96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belsky, J., & Pensky, E. (1988). Developmental history, personality, and family relationships: Toward an emergent family system. In R. A. Hinde & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences (pp. 193-217). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biglan, A., Hops, H., Sherman, L., Friedman, L. S., Arthur, J., & Osteen, V. (1985). Problem-solving interactions of depressed women and their husbands. Behavior Therapy, 16, 431-451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biglan, A., Rothlind, J., Hops, H., & Sherman, L. (1989). Impact of distressed and aggressive behavior. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 98, 218-228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkett, L. P. (1991). Parenting behaviors of women who were sexually abused as children in their families of origin. Family Process, 30, 421-434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capaldi, D., & Clark, S. (1998). Prospective family predictors of aggression toward female partners. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1175-1188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., & Elder, G. H. (1988). Emergent family patterns: The intergenerational construction of problem behavior and relations. In R. Hinde & J. Stevenson-Hinde (Eds.), Relationships within families: Mutual influences (pp. 218-240). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Z. Y., & Kaplan, H. B. (2001). Intergenerational transmission of constructive parenting. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 63, 17-31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1960). A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales. Educational and Psychological Measures, 20, 37-46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, P. M., Woolger, C., Power, T. G., & Smith, K. D. (1992). Parenting difficulties among adult survivors of father–daughter incest. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 239-249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., Maccoby, E. E., Steinberg, L., Hetherington, E. M., & Bornstein, M. H. (2000). Contemporary research on parenting: The case for nature and nurture. American Psychologist, 55, 218-232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Covell, K., Grusec, J. E., & King, G. (1995). The intergenerational transmission of maternal discipline and standards for behavior. Social Development, 4, 32-43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, B., Hops, H., Alpert, A., & Sheeber, L. (1998). Child responses to parent conflict and their effect on adjustment: A study of triadic relations. Journal of Family Psychology, 12, 163-177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elder, G. H., Caspi, A., & Downey, G. (1986). Problem behavior and family relationships: Life course and intergenerational themes. In A. B. Sorenson, F. Weinert, & L. R. Sherrod (Eds.), Human development and the life course: Multidisciplinary perspectives (pp. 293-340). New York: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyberg, S., Edwards, D., Bessmer, J., & Litwins, N. (1994). The workbook: A coder training manual for the dyadic parent–child interaction coding system II. Unpublished manuscript. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagot, B. I., & Leve, L. D. (1998). Teacher ratings of externalizing behavior at school entry for boys and girls: Similar early predictors and different correlates. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39, 555-566.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fagot, B. I., Pears, K. C., Capaldi, D. M., Crosby, L., & Leve, C. S. (1998). Becoming an adolescent father: Precursors and parenting. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1209-1219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferdinand, R. F., Verhulst, F. C., & Wiznitzer, M. (1995). Continuity and change of self-reported problem behaviors from adolescence into young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 680-690.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleiss, J. L. (1981). Statistical methods for rates and proportions. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Biglan, A., Longoria, N., Tolman, A., & Arthur, J. (2002). Living in family environments (LIFE) coding system: A reference manual for coders. Eugene, OR: Oregon Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Biglan, A., Sherman, L., Arthur, J., Friedman, L., & Osteen, V. (1987). Home observations of family interactions of depressed women. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 341-346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Biglan, A., Tolman, A., Arthur, J., & Longoria, N. (1995). Living in family environments (LIFE) coding system: Reference manual for coders. Eugene, OR: Oregon Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Biglan, A., Tolman, A., Sherman, L., Arthur, J., Warner, P., et al. (1990). Living in family environments (LIFE) coding system: Training/procedures and reference manual for coders. Eugene, OR: Oregon Research Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., Davis, B., & Longoria, N. (1995). Methodological issues in direct observation: Illustrations with the living in familiar environments (LIFE) coding system. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24, 193-203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hops, H., & Seeley, J. R. (1992). Parent participation in studies of family interaction: Methodological and substantive considerations. Behavioral Assessment, 14, 229-243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huesmann, L. R., Eron, L. D., Lefkowitz, M. M., & Walder, L. O. (1984). Stability of aggression over time and generations. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120-1134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessor, R., Donovan, J. E., & Costa, F. M. (1991). Beyond adolescence: Problem behavior and young adult development. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loeber, R., & Dishion, T. (1983). Early predictors of male delinquency: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 94, 68-99.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacKinnon, D. P., Lockwood, C. M., Hoffman, J. M., West, S. G., & Sheets, W. (2002). A comparison of methods to test mediation and other intervening variable effects. Psychological Methods, 7, 83-104.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCord, W., McCord, J., & Howard, A. (1961). Familial correlates of aggression in nondelinquent male children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62, 79-93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pakiz, B., Reinherz, H., & Giaconia, R. M. (1997). Early risk factors for serious antisocial behavior at age 21: A longitudinal community study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 92-101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R. (1998). Continuities—A search for causal mechanisms: Comment on the special section. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1263-1268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, G. R., Reid, J. B., & Dishion, T. J. (1998). Antisocial boys. In J. M. Jenkins & K. Oatley (Eds.), Human emotions: A reader (pp. 330-336). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prinz, R. J., Foster, S., Kent, R. N., & O'Leary, K. D. (1979). Multivariate assessment of conflict in distressed and nondistressed mother–adolescent dyads. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 12, 691-700.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putallaz, M., Costanzo, P. R., Grimes, C. L., & Sherman, D. M. (1998). Intergenerational continuities and their influences on children's social development. Social Development, 7, 389-427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogosch, F. A., Cicchetti, D., Shields, A., & Toth, S. L. (1995). Parenting dysfunction in child maltreatment. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of parenting: Vol. 4, Applied and practical parenting (pp. 127-159). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutter, M., Pickles, A., Murray, R., & Eaves, L. (2001). Testing hypotheses on specific environmental causal effects on behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 291-324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serbin, L. A., Schwartzman, A. E., Moskowitz, D. S., & Ledingham, J. E. (1991). Aggressive, withdrawn, and aggressive/withdrawn children in adolescence: Into the next generation. In D. J. Pepler & K. H. Rubin (Eds.), The development and treatment of childhood aggression (pp. 55-70). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serbin, L. A., & Stack, D. (Eds.). (1998a). Longitudinal studies of intergenerational continuity and the transfer of psychosocial risk [special section]. Development Psychology, 34(6), 1159-1273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serbin, L. A., & Stack, D. (1998b). Introduction to the special section: Studying intergenerational continuity and the transfer of risk. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1159-1161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheeber, L., Hops, H., Alpert, A., Davis, B., & Andrews, J. (1997). Family support and conflict: Prospective relations to adolescent depression. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 25, 333-344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Wu, C. I. (1991). Intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting. Developmental Psychology, 27, 159-171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simons, R. L., Wu, C., Johnson, C., & Conger, R. D. (1995). A test of various perspectives on the intergenerational transmission of domestic violence. Criminology, 33, 141-172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitbeck, L. B., Hoyt, D. R., Simons, R. L., Conger, R. D., Elder, G. H., Lorenz, F. O., et al. (1992). Intergenerational continuity of parental rejection and depressed affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 1036-1045.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaidi, L. Y., Knutson, J. F., & Mehm, J. G. (1989). Transgenerational patterns of abusive parenting: Analog and clinical tests. Aggressive Behavior, 15, 137-152.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, Oregon

    Hyman Hops

  2. Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, Oregon

    Betsy Davis, Craig Leve & Lisa Sheeber

Authors
  1. Hyman Hops
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Betsy Davis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Craig Leve
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Lisa Sheeber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyman Hops.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hops, H., Davis, B., Leve, C. et al. Cross-Generational Transmission of Aggressive Parent Behavior: A Prospective, Mediational Examination. J Abnorm Child Psychol 31, 161–169 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022522224295

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022522224295

Search

Navigation