Parent Behavior and Child Adjustment Across Cultures

描述（由申请人提供）：本研究探讨了父母的管教策略如何影响儿童的发展。第一个和第二个目的是检查之间的关联严厉的纪律和儿童的调整是缓和：1）规范的纪律方法所表示的文化接受其使用，和2）亲子关系的情感质量。我们假设，在文化规范性和温暖的条件下，亲子关系，有一个较弱的关联之间的苛刻的纪律和儿童的调整困难。第三个目的是检验严厉的纪律和儿童的适应困难之间的关联是否由儿童对纪律的认知评价介导。儿童解释纪律的做法是假设解释，在一定程度上，纪律和儿童的调整之间的联系。作为理解儿童对纪律实践的解释的一部分，我们将尝试将文化“解包”为可测量的上下文组件，并理解文化的具体特征（例如，信仰，价值观），影响父母的做法和儿童对他们的解释。我们将收集和分析8个国家的数据（即，中国、印度、意大利、肯尼亚、菲律宾、瑞典、泰国、美国）和这些国家内的分组。每个国家之所以被选中，是因为它们有可能为理解父母的纪律行为如何影响儿童的适应做出独特的贡献。将对每个文化群体的100名儿童及其父母进行结构化访谈。纵向随访将在初始评估后12个月和24个月进行。将通过结构方程模型和多水平模型进行分析，其中测量时机嵌套在家庭中，家庭嵌套在文化中。关于父母养育影响儿童适应的机制的研究结果将对公共卫生产生影响，因为它们有可能影响旨在预防适应问题的干预措施，特别是在受虐待和其他高风险群体中。了解父母的纪律做法如何从多个文化角度与儿童的调整有可能告知发展心理学在法律，政策和干预中的应用。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This study addresses how parents' discipline strategies affect children's development. The first and second aims are to examine whether the association between harsh discipline and child adjustment is moderated by: 1) the normativeness of the discipline method as indicated by cultural acceptance of its use, and 2) the affective quality of the parent-child relationship. We hypothesize that under conditions of cultural normativeness and warmth within the parent-child relationship, there is a weaker association between harsh discipline and children's adjustment difficulties. The third aim is to examine whether the association between harsh discipline and children's adjustment difficulties is mediated by children's cognitive appraisals regarding the discipline. The way children interpret a discipline practice is hypothesized to explain, in part, the link between discipline and children's adjustment. As part of understanding children's interpretations of discipline practices, we will try to "unpack" culture into measurable contextual components and to understand specific characteristics of culture (e.g., beliefs, values) that affect parenting practices and children's interpretations of them. We will collect and analyze data in 8 countries (i.e., China, India, Italy, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, United States) and subgroups within these countries. Each country has been selected because of its potential to provide a unique contribution to understanding how parents' discipline behaviors affect children's adjustment. Structured interviews will be conducted with 100 children and their mothers and fathers in each cultural group. Longitudinal follow-up will occur 12 months and 24 months after the initial assessment. Analyses will be conducted through structural equation modeling and multilevel modeling in which measurement occasions are nested within families, which are nested within cultures. Findings regarding mechanisms through which parenting affects children's adjustment will have public health implications because of their potential to influence interventions designed to prevent adjustment problems, especially in maltreated and other high-risk groups. Understanding how parents' discipline practices relate to children's adjustment from multiple cultural perspectives has the potential to inform applications of developmental psychology in law, policy, and intervention.