title: Exploring the relation of harsh parental discipline with child emotional and behavioral problems by using multiple informants. The generation R study.
abstract: Parental harsh disciplining, like corporal punishment, has consistently been associated with adverse mental health outcomes in children. It remains a challenge to accurately assess the consequences of harsh discipline, as researchers and clinicians generally rely on parent report of young children's problem behaviors. If parents rate their parenting styles and their child's behavior this may bias results. The use of child self-report on problem behaviors is not common but may provide extra information about the relation of harsh parental discipline and problem behavior. We examined the independent contribution of young children's self-report above parental report of emotional and behavioral problems in a study of maternal and paternal harsh discipline in a birth cohort. Maternal and paternal harsh discipline predicted both parent reported behavioral and parent reported emotional problems, but only child reported behavioral problems. Associations were not explained by pre-existing behavioral problems at age 3. Importantly, the association with child reported outcomes was independent from parent reported problem behavior. These results suggest that young children's self-reports of behavioral problems provide unique information on the effects of harsh parental discipline. Inclusion of child self-reports can therefore help estimate the effects of harsh parental discipline more accurately.
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Joreintje D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Mackenbach
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ank P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Ringoot
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Ende
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Verhulst
authors.affiliation: The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Vincent W V
authors.initials: VW
authors.lastname: Jaddoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Pauline W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Jansen
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Erasmus MC-University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henning W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011678:Punishment / Q000523:psychology*; D057566:Self Report; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires