Outcomes of Parental Use of Psychological Aggression on Children: A Structural Model From Sri Lanka

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the existence and, if so, the nature of the association between parental use of psychological aggression and psychological maladjustment in a 12-year-old Sri Lankan school population. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 1,226 children from Colombo district schools. Three instruments, validated in the Sri Lankan context, were used to collect data on children’s experience of psychological aggression, its psychological outcomes, and psychosocial correlates. The annual prevalence of psychological aggression reported by the study sample was 75%. A predictive model for psychological outcomes was examined. The experience of psychological aggression was shown to be moderately, but directly and significantly, associated with psychological maladjustment in children. This association was mediated by non—parentto-child violence—the child’s knowledge of violence between the parents, experience of teacher violence, exposure to peer violence, and violence in the child’s community. However, the child’s report of a nurturant parent—child relationship did not impact on the association between psychological aggression and psychological maladjustment. The study also indicated that greater the child’s experience of non—parent-to-child violence, the greater is his/her own level of hostility and aggression. These findings show that although many Sri Lankan parents use psychological aggression it has negative consequences for their children.

Keywords

disciplining psychological aggression psychological maladjustment Sri Lanka

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agathonos-Georgopoulou, H. , & Browne K.D. ( 1997). The prediction of child maltreatment in Greek families . Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 721-735.

Barnett, D. , Manly, J.T. , & Cicchetti, D. ( 1993). Defining child maltreatment: The interface between policy and research. In D. Cicchetti , & S. L. Toth (Eds.), Child abuse, child development, and social policy (pp. 7-73). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.

De Zoysa, P. ( 2006). Parental use of physical force towards school children in the Colombo district: Prevalence, psychosocial correlates & psychological consequences. Unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

De Zoysa, P. , Rajapakse, L. , & Newcombe, P. ( 2005). Adaptation and validation of the parent-child conflict tactics scale for use in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Medical Journal , 50, 11-14.

De Zoysa, P. , Rajapakse, L. , & Newcombe, P.A. (2007). Adaptation and validation of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire on 12-year-old children in Sri Lanka. In L. S. Boyar (Ed.), New psychological tests and testing research. New York : Nova Science.

Dodge, K.A. , Pettit, G.S. , McClaskey, C.L. , & Brown, M.M. ( 1986). Social competence in children. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 51(2, serial no. 213).

English, D.J. ( 1998). The extent and consequences of child maltreatment. The future of children. Protecting children from abuse and neglect. Available from http://www.futureofchildren.org

Gershoff, E.T. ( 2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviours and experiences: A macro-analysis and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.

Gilmartin, B. ( 1985). Some family antecedents of severe shyness. Family Relations, 34, 429-438.

10.

Grusec, J.E. , & Goodnow, J.J. ( 1994). Impact of parental discipline methods on the child’s internalisation of values: A reconceptualisation of current points of view . Developmental Psychology, 30, 2-5.

11.

Haj-Yahia, M. , & Ben-Arieh, A. ( 2000). The incidence of Arab adolescents exposure to violence in their families of origin and its socio-demographic correlates. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 1299-1315.

12.

Haj-Yahia, M. , & Musleh, K. ( 2002). The incidence of adolescent maltreatment in Arab society and some of its psychological effects. Journal of Family Issues , 33, 1032-1064.

13.

Hemenway, D. , Solnick, S. , & Carter, J. ( 1994). Child-rearing violence. Child Abuse and Violence, 18, 1011-1020.

14.

Heyman, R.E. , & Smith Slep, A.M. (2001). Risk factors for family violence: Introduction to the special series. Aggression and Violent Behaviour, 6, 115-119.

15.

Joreskog, K.G. , & Sorbom, D. ( 1986). PRELIS: A preprocessor for LISREL. Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software.

16.

Krishnamurti, J. ( 1959). Commentaries on living (First series). Chennai: Krishnamurti Foundation India.

17.

Lesnik-Oberstein, M. , Koers, A.J. , & Cohen, L. ( 1995). Parental hostility and its sources in psychologically abusive mothers: A test of the three factor theory. Child abuse & Neglect, 19, 33-49.

18.

Lynch, M. , & Cicchetti, D. ( 1998). An ecological-transactional analysis of children and contexts: The longitudinal interplay among child maltreatment, community violence, and children’s symptomatology. Developmental Psychopathology , 10, 235-257.

19.

Mrazek, P.J. , & Haggerty, R.J. (1994). Reducing risks for disorders: Frontliners for preventive intervention (pp. 123-131). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

20.

National Institute of Mental Health. (1996 ). A plan for prevention research for the National Institute of Mental Health. Bethesda, MD: NIH.

21.

Ney, P.G. ( 1987). Does verbal abuse leave deeper scars? A study of children and parents. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 32, 371-378.

22.

Ney, P.G. , Moore, C. , McPhee, J. , & Trought, P. ( 1986). Child abuse: A study of the child’s perspective . Child Abuse & Neglect, 10, 511-518.

23.

Parke, R.D. ( 2002). Punishment revisited-Science values and the right question: Comment on Gershoff, 2002. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 596-601.

24.

Sedlak, A.J. ( 1997). Risk factors for the occurrence of child abuse and neglect . Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, 1, 75-88.

25.

Solomon, C.R. , & Serres, F. ( 1999). Effects of parental verbal aggression on children’s self-esteem and school marks. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 339-351.

26.

Straus, M.A. ( 1994). Beating the devil out of them: Corporal punishment in American families. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Lexington Books.

27.

Straus, M.A. , & Field, C.J. ( 2003). Psychological aggression by American parents: National data on prevalence, chronicity and severity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 65, 795-808.

28.

Straus, M.A. , Hamby, S.L. , Finklehor, D. , Moore, D.W. , & Runyan D. ( 1998). Identification of child maltreatment with the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales: Development and psychometric data for a national sample of American parents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2, 249-270.

29.

Straus, M.A. , & Stewart, J.H. ( 1999). Corporal punishment by American parents: National data on prevalence, chronicity, severity and duration, in relation to child and family characteristics. Clinics of Child Family Psychology Review, 2, 55-70.

30.

Straus, M.A. , & Yodanis, C.L. ( 1996). Corporal punishment in adolescence and physical assaults on spouses later in life: What accounts for the link? Journal of Marriage and Family, 58, 825-841.

31.

Swinford, S.P. , De Maris, A. , Cernkovich, S.A. , & Giardano, P.C. (2000). Harsh physical discipline in childhood and violence in later romantic involvements: The mediating role of problem behaviors. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 508-519.

32.

Vissing, Y.M. , Straus, M.A. , Gelles, J.J. , & Harrop, J.W. ( 1991). Verbal aggression by parents and psychosocial problems of children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 223-238.

33.

White, G.O. , & Straus, M.A. ( 1981). The implications of family violence for rehabilitation strategies. In S. E. Martin , L. B. Sechres , & R. Redner (Eds.), New directions in the rehabilitation of criminal offenders (pp. 255-288). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.