Harsh Parenting in Relation to Child Emotional Regulation and Aggression

Article Critique.
Ailbhe Owens.
12th December, 2014.
C.T.Y.I. Dublin City University

Rationale of the study.

Research has found a link between the use of physical punishment by parents and
behaviour problems, such as aggression, in children (Eron, Huesmann & Zelli, 1991). Data
from Eron, Huesmann and Zelli (1991) suggested that in order for aggressive behaviour to
manifest in children, aggression must be learnt from parents or primary care givers before the
age of six years. The study of parenting and aggression in Chinese children by Chang,
Schwartz, Dodge and McBride-Chang (2003), studied 325 preschool children and their
parents. The children examined in this study were under six years of age, and were in the
period where learning aggressive behaviour may have a significant effect on the personality
of a child, and may remain as a trait into adolescent and adult life (Eron et al, 1991).
Banduras Social Learning Theory (1971) suggests that children learn through the process
of role modelling, by imitating behaviours that they see in their environments. Banduras
Bobo Doll experiment demonstrated that children often copy the behaviours of their parents,
as 88% of the children who were shown the video of an adult attacking the Bobo Doll
replicated their aggressive behaviour when they were presented with the same Bobo Doll
(Bandura, 1961).
Bronfenbrenners theory of ecological systems places parents in the microsystem of a
childs development (Sincero, S.M., 2012). Hence, a child may learn many traits from them,
such as aggressive behaviours and poor emotional regulation, which supports the hypothesis
that harsh parenting may have an effect on aggression in children.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this study was to support the hypothesis that harsh parenting increases the
occurrence of aggression in Chinese children. The researchers stated that Chinese children
and their families were an understudied group, as much of the research that is conducted on
Chinese children is based around academic achievement (Green, Forehand, Beck & Vosk,
1980).

Method
Parents of the children studied completed the Parental Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire
(Rohner, 1986, as cited by Chang et al., 2003). Mothers of the children completed the
Emotional Regulation Checklist (Shields & Ciccheetti, 1998, as cited by Chang et al., 2003).
Items were measured quantitatively, on a seven point scale.
The childs school behaviours were rated by one teacher and two assistant teachers.
Aggressive behaviours, such as bullying, name calling, and fighting were rated quantitatively,
on a five point scale.
The children that were studied were separated by gender, as the researchers wished to reveal
how harsh parenting could potentially affect genders differently.

Main findings
The results of showed the correlation between harsh parenting and aggression in children to
be positive for both mothers and fathers.. Fathers harsh parenting scored considerably higher
for sons than daughters. Boys scored notably higher on aggression in school and emotional

dysregulation than girls. There was no gender difference in regards to mothers harsh
parenting (Chang et al., 2003).

Implication
These findings support the hypothesis that harsh parenting can lead to aggression in
children (Chang et al., 2003). They also support Social Learning Theory (1971), and are
similar findings as too the Bobo Doll experiment of 1961. The study by Chang et al. (2003)
suggests that children do imitate the behaviours of their parents.

Criticism
The findings of the article may not be generalised to other populations and ethnicities, as
other research has found that parenting styles, and the emphasis that is placed on certain
behaviours, differ in the United States of America and China. Research found that Chinese
mothers placed more of an emphasis on the encouragement of good behaviour, protection,
shaming/love withdrawal and directiveness, and mothers from the United States scored
higher on maternal involvement (Wu et al., 2002). As values are different in the United States
and other Western countries to the values and cultural norms of China, the research may only
apply to Chinese families.
Lansford, Deater-Deckard, Dodge, Bates and Pettit (2004) studied race as a moderator of
the relationship between behavioural problems in adolescents and physical discipline. Their
results indicated that harsh parenting styles may affect children differently in the long term,
depending on the race and ecological system of the families.

The parenting styles of the parents were self assessed, and therefore the data may be
inaccurate. The explicit attitudes of the parents studied may not be reflective of their implicit
attitudes in regard to their own parenting styles and behaviour (Long-Crowell).
Strengths and Improvements
The study could have been improved by studying a bigger sample of Chinese children, and
by conducting the same study in Western and other cultures, as results may differ culturally
(Lansford, Deater-Deckard, Dodge, Bates & Pettit, 2004).
One of the strengths of the study is that it provides research on what Chang et al. (2003)
describes as an understudied group. Very little research has studied aggression in Chinese
children, especially in relation to social learning theory (Bandura, 1971).
The study by Chang et al. (2003) also studied gender as a moderator, and has shown that
aggression in mothers and fathers can affect sons and daughters differently. Chang et al.
(2003) suggested that children may react more negatively to aggression from mothers, as
aggression is considered more normal in male gender roles.

References
Chang, L., Schwartz, D., Dodge, K. A. & McBride-Chang, C. (2003). Harsh Parenting in
Relation to Child Emotion Regulation and Aggression. Journal of Family Psychology, 17
(4), 598-606.

Wu, P., Robinson, C.C., Yang, C. Hart, C.H., Olsen, S.F., Porter, C.L., Jin, S. Wo, J & Wu, J.
(2002). Similarities and Differences in mothers parenting of preschoolers in China and
the United States. International Journal of Behavioural Development, 26 (6), 481-491.

Lansford, J.E., Deater-Deckard, K.A., Bates, J.E. & Pettit, G.S. (2004). Ethnic Differences in
the link between physical discipline and later adolescent externalizing behaviours.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45 (4). 801-812.

Eron, L.D., Rowell Huesmann,L. & Zelli, A. (1991). The Role of Parental Variables in the
Learning of Aggression In Rubin, K.H & Pepler, D.J. The Development and Treatment of
Childhood Aggression (171-186)

Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Sincero, S.M., (2012). Ecological Systems Theory. Retrieved Dec 10, 2014 from
https://explorable.com/ecological-systems-theory

Green, K.D., Forehand, R. Beck, S. & Vosk, B. (1980). An Assessment of the Relationship
among Measures of Childrens Social Competence and Childrens Academic
Achievement. Child Development, 51, 1149-1156.

Long-Crowell, E. Implicit vs. Explicit Attitudes: Definition, Examples & Pros/Cons.

Retrived December 9, 2014, http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/implicit-vsexplicit-attitudes-definition-examples-pros-cons.html#lesson