Patterns Of Caregiver Aggressive And Nonaggressive Discipline

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Background

Caregivers use a variety of disciplinary methods to respond to undesired child behavior.

Many caregivers use nonaggressive forms of discipline, such as verbal reasoning and redirection. Some caregivers use aggressive forms of discipline, such as spanking and yelling.

However, most caregivers use a combination of aggressive and nonaggressive discipline.

To date, a disproportionately small number of caregiver discipline studies are conducted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and few studies in low-resource contexts examine aggressive and nonaggressive behaviors simultaneously.

Objective

This study (Ward et al., 2022) aims to elucidate caregiver patterns of 11 disciplinary behaviors used in LMICs, and examine how these patterns relate to child outcomes and household characteristics.

Participants and setting

Data came from the fourth and fifth rounds of UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) distributed between 2009 and 2017 (N = 218,824 respondents across 63 countries). Focal children were 3–4 years old.

Methods

Patterns of disciplinary behaviors were estimated using a multilevel latent class analysis (LCA). Multinomial regression analyses examined associations of disciplinary patterns with caregiver-reported child outcomes and household characteristics.

Results

Overall Results

The LCA suggested caregiver discipline fell into three overall patterns: high behavioral control, moderate behavior control, and lower behavioral control.

Lower Behavioral Control Associated With Most Advantageous Outcomes

The lower behavioral control class–associated with low use of psychological discipline, low use of physical discipline, and some use of nonviolent discipline–was associated with the most advantageous child outcomes and household socio-demographic characteristics.

High Behavioral Control Associated With Most Disadvantageous Outcomes

The high behavioral control class–associated with higher use of psychological discipline, physical discipline, and nonviolent discipline–was associated with the most disadvantageous child outcomes and household characteristics.

Conclusion

Efforts should be employed to reduce aggressive behaviors and promote positive parenting among caregivers in LMICs.

positive parenting

Discipline	Type
“Shouted at child”	psychological
“Called child names”	psychological
“Shook child”	physical
“Spanked child”	physical
“Hit/slapped child on arm/leg”	physical
“Hit child with object”	physical
“Hit/slapped child on face/head/ears”	physical
“Beat as hard as one could”	physical
“Took privileges away from child”	non-violent
“Explained why behavior was wrong”	non-violent
“Gave child something else to do”	non-violent

Countries in UNICEF MICS Data

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Patterns of Parental Discipline

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References

Ward, K. P., Lee, S. J., Grogan-Kaylor, A. C., Ma, J., & Pace, G. T. (2022). Patterns of caregiver aggressive and nonaggressive discipline toward young children in low- and middle-income countries: A latent class approach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2022.105606