Physical Discipline and Child Behavior Problems: A Study of Ethnic Group Differences

Abstract

Objective. This study examines ethnic group differences in the relation between parents' use of physical discipline and children's externalizing behavior problems in younger children and assesses both same-source and distinct-source data. Design. One hundred and twelve mothers of African American (N = 63) and European American (N = 49) children were interviewed regarding their parenting strategies and their child's behavior. Preschool teacher ratings of child behavior were obtained. Results. Regression analyses revealed significant main effects for gender and discipline on externalizing behavior problems. All 2-way interactions with ethnicity were significant, but only when predicting teacher-rated behavior problems. Post-hoc analyses showed that for African American men, there was a significant negative correlation between mother-reported physical discipline and teacher-rated externalizing behavior problems. Similar correlations for African American women and the European American gender groups were not significant. Conclusions. These findings show ethnic differences in the relation between physical discipline and externalizing behavior problems for young children when distinct-source information is obtained. The study extends the literature by showing this effect is particularly strong for boys.