title: Understanding links between punitive parenting and adolescent adjustment: The relevance of context and reciprocal associations.
abstract: There is considerable debate regarding the extent to which punitive parenting adversely impacts youth well being. Using an ecological-transactional model of human development, we examined reciprocity and contextual variability in associations between maternal punitive discipline and adolescent adjustment among 1,147 low-income, urban youth followed through adolescence. Longitudinal SEM results indicated that delinquency and depressive symptoms during pre- and early adolescence (Time 1) were associated with increased punitive discipline about a year later (Time 2). When mothers reported less Time 2 neighborhood disorder, punitive discipline at Time 2 was associated with increased delinquency (for boys) and depressive symptoms (for girls) during mid- to late adolescence (Time 3). The costs of punitive discipline for adolescent adjustment are best understood considering the dynamic, transactional, and contextual nature of development.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Room 4533, Baltimore, MD 21205. kroche@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Kathleen M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.forename: Sharon R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ghazarian
authors.forename: Todd D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Little
authors.forename: Tama
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leventhal