European American Children Become More Aggressive When Physically Punished

Ethnic background seems to play a role in how children react to physical discipline from their parents. According to a new study in the November issue of the American Psychological Association's Journal of Developmental Psychology, European American children who are physically punished become more aggressive in school. In contrast, African American children do not become more aggressive when they are punished physically by their parents.

"The meaning attached to the physical discipline could be the reason for this ethnic group difference," said psychologist Kirby Deater-Deckard, Ph.D., of the Institute of Psychiatry in London, England and lead author of the study. "We have speculated that a child from an European American family may interpret harsh physical discipline -- not physical abuse -- as parental hostility and lack of warmth. But a child from an African American family may not view the same punishment as hostile or showing a lack of warmth or caring."

Dr. Deater-Deckard and psychologists Kenneth A. Dodge, Ph.D., John E. Bates, Ph.D., and Gregory S. Petit, Ph.D., found this out by first asking single and married mothers of 466 European American and 100 African American kindergartners from various socioeconomic levels if they used physical punishment as a way to discipline their children. The mothers along with the children's teachers and peers were then asked how often and to what extent these children acted in an aggressive way and whether they had conflicts with their teachers. The children were monitored through the third grade.

"Single mothers, mothers with fewer socioeconomic resources and African American mothers reported using more physical punishment," said Dr. Deater-Deckard. "But even though the African American children were more likely to be living in single-mother and lower income households, these children did not behave more aggressively in school even though it appeared they would be at risk for it."

It seems likely that there are ethnic and cultural variations in the ways children view the meaning of parents' behavior, explained the authors. For example, "among European American families, the presence of harsh discipline may imply an out-of- control, parent-centered household for some, whereas a lack of discipline among African American parents may indicate an abdication of the parenting role to others."

"We are currently exploring African American and European American children's view of physical discipline," said Dr. Deater- Deckard. "Future studies should tell us whether these ethnic group variations are due to cultural differences in the meaning of physical discipline."

5/29/98

Reference: "Physical Discipline Among African American and European American Mothers: Links to Children's Externalizing Behaviors" by Kirby Deater-Deckard, Ph.D., Kenneth A. Dodge, Ph.D., John E. Bates, Ph.D. and Gregory S. Pettit, Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Vol. 32, No. 6, pp 001-008.

3/4/99

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