Abstract:
This study identified discipline and coercive/power assertive punishment techniques young adults recalled receiving during childhood. This study also examined the contribution of specific discipline and punishment techniques to young adults' history of externalizing behaviors, current attachment to mother, and depression. Participants in the study were undergraduate students enrolled in courses offered by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and the Department of Psychology at The University of Alabama. Results revealed that African American and Caucasian participants recalled receiving different discipline and punishment techniques. Male and female participants recalled receiving different discipline and punishment techniques. Significant differences were that male participants recalled receiving physical aggression and love withdrawal at higher rates than female participants. All participants recalled receiving each discipline and punishment technique at a rate with unrelated consequences being the most frequently recalled. For males, verbal aggression, physical aggression, love withdrawal, and natural consequences were each related at the bivariate level of history of externalizing behaviors, depression, and current attachment to mother. For females, the pattern of discipline and punishment techniques that were statistically significant with the outcomes of history of externalizing behaviors, current attachment to mother, and depression are similar to the pattern of statistically significant bivariate correlations for males. Exploratory analyses were also completed to examine the relative contribution of childhood discipline and punishment variables to the explanation of young adult social functioning. Implications of these findings increasing parents' knowledge and practice of positive discipline techniques are discussed.
