According to recent estimates, childhood abuse victims are at 12 times higher risk for child abuse perpetration than those without such abusive histories. This study focused on delineation of the mechanisms by which intergenerational patterns of abuse may occur and, in particular, the role that disciplinary attitudes may play in mediating the relation between disciplinary history and risk for abusive parenting. Participants (n = 459) completed a series of questionnaires to assess childhood history, disciplinary attitudes, and disciplinary practices. Structural equation modeling indicated that the association between disciplinary history and disciplinary responses was partially mediated by attitudes, with more than half of the association between history and responses accounted for by attitudes. These findings support the need for interventions to focus on attitudinal change when attempting to reduce risk for perpetration among those with histories of abuse.
Arbuckle, J. L. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques (pp. 243-277). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (1999). Amos 4.0 [Computer software]. Chicago: Smallwaters.
3.
Ashton, V. (2001). The relationship between attitudes toward corporal punishment and the perception and reporting of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 389-399.
4.
Azar, S. T., Robinson, D. R., Hekimian, E., & Twentyman, C. T. (1984). Unrealistic expectations and problem solving ability in maltreating and comparison mothers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 687-691.
5.
Azar, S. T., & Wolfe, D. A. (1998). Child physical abuse and neglect. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Treatment of childhood disorders (2nd ed., pp. 501-544). New York: Guilford.
6.
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical consideration. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
7.
Bavolek, S. J. (1989). Assessing and treatment high-risk parenting attitudes. Early Child Development and Care, 42, 99-112.
8.
Belsky, J. (1993). Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental-ecological analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 413-434.
9.
Berger, A. M., Knutson, J. F., Mehm, J. G., & Perkins, K. A. (1988). The self-report of punitive childhood experiences of young adults and adolescents. Child Abuse & Neglect, 12, 251-262.
10.
Bogaard, H. (l976). Relationships between aggressive behavior in children and parent perception of child behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon.
11.
Borkovec, T., & Rachman, S. (1979). The utility of analogue research. Behavior Research and Therapy, 17, 253-261.
12.
Bower, M., & Knutson, J. F. (1996). Attitudes toward physical discipline as a function of disciplinary history and self-labeling as physically abused. Child Abuse & Neglect, 20, 689-699.
13.
Bower-Russa, M., Knutson, J. F., & Winebarger, A. (2001). Disciplinary history, adult disciplinary attitudes, and risk for abusive parenting. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 219-240.
14.
Buntain-Ricklefs, J. J., Kemper, K. J., Bell, M., & Babonis, T. (1994). Punishments: What predicts adult approval. Child Abuse & Neglect, 18, 945-955.
15.
Crouch, J. L., & Behl, L. E. (2001). Relationships among parental beliefs in corporal punishment, reported, stress, and physical child abuse potential. Child Abuse & Neglect, 25, 413-419.
16.
Daro, D., & Gelles, R. J. (1992). Public attitudes and behaviors with respect to child abuse prevention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7, 517-531.
17.
Deater-Deckard, K., Pettit, G. S., Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., & Bates, J. E. (2003). The development of attitudes about physical punishment: An 8-year longitudinal study. Journal of Family Psychology, 17, 351-360.
18.
DeGarmo, D. S., Reid, J. B., & Knutson, J. F. (in press). Integrating direct observations and laboratory analog measures in research definitions of child maltreatment. In M. Feerick, J. F. Knutson, P. Trickett, & S. Flanzer, (Eds.), Defining and classifying child abuse and neglect for research purposes. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
19.
Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1990). Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science, 250, 1678-1683.
20.
Donnelly, A. C. (1997). An overview of prevention of physical abuse and neglect. In M. E. Helfer & R. S. Kempe (Eds.), The battered child (5th ed., pp. 579-593). Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
21.
Egeland, B., Jacobvitz, D., & Sroufe, L. A. (1988). Breaking the cycle of abuse. Child Development, 59, 1080-1088.
22.
Ertem, I. O., Leventhal, J. M., & Dobbs, S. (2000). Intergenerational continuity of child physical abuse: How good is the evidence?Lancet, 356, 814-819.
23.
Flynn, C. P. (1998). To spank or not to spank: The effect of situation and age of child on support for corporal punishment. Journal of Family Violence, 13, 21-37.
24.
Gelles, R. J. (1973). Child abuse as psychopathology: A sociological critique and reformulation. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 43, 611-621.
25.
Gershoff, E. T. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.
26.
Gil, D. G. (1970). Violence against children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
27.
Gracia, E. (1995). Visible but unreported: A case for the “not serious enough” cases of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 1083-1093.
28.
Graziano, A. M. (1994). Why we should study subabusive violence against children. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 9, 412-419.
29.
Graziano A. M., & Namaste, K. A. (1990). Parental use of physical force in child discipline: A survey of 679 college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 5, 449-463.
30.
Herrenkohl, R. C., Herrenkohl, E. C., & Egolf, B. P. (1983). Circumstances surrounding the occurrence of child maltreatment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 424-431.
31.
Herzberger, S. D. (1983). Social cognition and the transmission of abuse. In D. Finkelhor, R. J. Gelles, G. T. Hotaling, & M. A. Straus (Eds.), The dark side of families: Current family violence research (pp. 317-329). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
32.
Herzberger, S. D. (1996). Violence within the family. Boulder, Colorado: Westview.
33.
Herzeberger, S. D., & Tennen, H. (1985). The effect of self-relevance on judgements of moderate and severe disciplinary encounters. Marriage and the Family, 47, 311-318.
34.
Holmbeck, G. N. (1997). Toward terminological, conceptual, and statistical clarity in the study of mediators and moderators: Examples from the child-clinical and pediatric psychology literatures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 599-610.
35.
Jackson, S., Thompson, R. A., Christiansen, E. H., Colman, R. A., Wyatt, J. Buckendahl, et al. (1999). Predicting abuse-prone parental attitudes and discipline practices in a nationally representative sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 15-29.
36.
Kaplan, S. J., Pelcovitz, D., & Labruna, V. (1999). Child and adolescent abuse and neglect research: A review of the past 10 years. Part I: Physical and emotional abuse and neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1214-1222.
37.
Kaufman, J., & Zigler, E. (1989). The intergenerational transmission of child abuse. In D. Cicchetti & V. Carlson (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 129-150). New York: Cambridge.
38.
Kazdin, A. E. (1978). Evaluating the generality of findings in analogue therapy research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 673-686.
39.
Kazdin, A. E., & Rogers, T. (1978). On paradigms and recycled ideologies: Analogue research revisited. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2, 105-117.
40.
Kelder, L. R., McNamara, J. R., Carlson, B., & Lynn, S. J. (1991). Perceptions of physical punishment: The relation to childhood and adolescent experiences. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 432-445.
41.
Knutson, J. F., & Bower, M. E. (1994). Physically abusive parenting as an escalated aggressive response. In M. Potegal & J. F. Knutson (Eds.), The dynamics of aggression: Biological and social processes in dyads and groups (pp. 195-225). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
42.
Knutson, J. F., Johnson, C. R., & Sullivan, P. M. (2004). Disciplinary choices of mothers of deaf children and mothers of normally hearing children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 925-937.
43.
Knutson, J. F., & Mehm, J. G. (1988). Transgenerational patterns of coercion in families and intimate relationships. In G. W. Russell (Ed.), Violence in intimate relationships (pp. 67-90). New York: Publishers Marketing Association.
44.
Kraus, S. J. (1995). Attitudes and the prediction of behavior: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 58-75.
45.
Larrance, D. T., & Twentyman, C. T. (1983). Maternal attributions and child abuse. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 92, 449-457.
46.
Lewko, J., Carriere, R., Whissell, C., & Radford, J. (1986). Final report of the study investigating the long term effectiveness of the parenting for teens and child project. Sudbury, Ontario, Canada: Laurentian University, Center for Research in Human Development.
47.
MacKinnon, D. P., & Dwyer, J. H. (1993). Estimating mediated effects in prevention studies. Evaluation Review, 17, 144-158.
48.
Margolin, L., & Craft, J. L. (1990). Child abuse by adolescent caregivers. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14, 365-373.
49.
Masten, A. A., Best, K. M., & Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2, 425-444.
50.
Millar, M. G., & Millar, K. U. (1996). The effects of direct and indirect experience on affective and cognitive responses and the attitude-behavior relation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 32, 561-579.
51.
Miller, K. S., & Knutson, J. F. (1997). Reports of severe physical punishment and exposure to animal cruelty by inmates convicted of felonies and by university students. Child Abuse & Neglect, 21, 59-82.
52.
Mook, D. G. (1983). In defense of external invalidity. American Psychologist, 38, 379-387.
53.
Newcomb, M. D. (1990). What structural equation modeling can tell us about social support. In B. R. Sarason, I. G. Sarason, & G. R. Pierce (Eds.), Social support: An interactional view (pp. 26-63). Oxford, England: John Wiley & Sons.
54.
Olds, D. L., & Kitzman, H. (1993). Review of research on home visiting for pregnant women and parents of young children. Future of Children, 3(3), 53-92.
55.
Portwood, S. (1998). The impact of individuals’ characteristics and experiences on their definitions of child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 437-452.
56.
Prescott, A., Bank, L., Reid, J. B., Knutson, J. F., Burraston, B. O., & Eddy, J. M. (2000). The veridicality of retrospective reports of punitive childhood experiences. Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 411-423.
57.
Rausch, K., & Knutson, J. F. (1991). The self-report of personal punitive childhood experiences and those of siblings. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 29-36.
58.
Reid, J. B. (1985). Social interactional patterns in families of abused and nonabused children. In C. Zahn-Waxler, M. Cummings, & M. Radke-Yarrow (Eds.), Social and biological origins of altruism and aggression (pp. 33-45). New York: Cambridge University Press.
59.
Reid, J. B., Taplin, P. S., & Lorber, R. (1981). A social interactional approach to the treatment of abusive families. In R. Stuart (Ed.), Violent behavior: Social learning approaches to prediction, management, and treatment (pp. 83-101). New York: Brunner/Mazel.
60.
Rodriguez, C. M., & Price, B. L. (2004). Attributions and discipline history as predictors of child abuse potential and future discipline practices. Child Abuse & Neglect, 28, 845-861.
61.
Rodriguez, C. M., & Sutherland, D. (1999). Predictors of parents’ physical disciplinary practices. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23, 651-657.
62.
Rutter, M. (1983). Stress, coping, and development: Some issues and some questions. In N. Garmezy & M. Rutter (Eds.), Stress, coping, and development in children (pp. 1-41). New York: McGraw-Hill.
63.
Sapp, A. D., & Carter, D. L. (1978). Child abuse in Texas: A descriptive study of Texas residents’ attitudes. Huntsville, TX: Sam Houston State University.
64.
Simons, R. L., Whitbeck, L. B., Conger, R. D., & Chyi-In, W. (1991). Intergenerational transmission of harsh parenting. Developmental Psychology, 27, 159-171.
65.
Socolar, R. R. S., & Stein, R. E. K. (1995). Spanking infants and toddlers: Maternal belief and practice. Pediatrics, 95, 105-111.
66.
Steele, B. F., & Pollack, C. B. (1974). A psychiatric study of parents who abuse infants and small children. In R. E. Helfer & C. H. Kempe (Eds.), The battered child (2nd ed., pp. 89-133). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
67.
Stone, G. L. (1984). Comments. Reaction: In defense of the “artificial.”Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 108-110.
68.
Stopa, L., & Clark, D. M. (2001). Social phobia: Comments on the viability and validity of an analogue research strategy and British norms for the fear of negative evaluation questionnaire. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 29, 423-430.
69.
Straus, M. A. (1980). Stress and physical child abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 4, 75-88.
70.
Straus, M. A. (1992, April). Corporal punishment of children and depression and suicide in adulthood. Paper presented at the Society for Life History Research, Philadelphia, PA.
71.
Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family. New York: Anchor.
72.
Susman, E. J., Trickett, P. K., Iannotti, R. J., Hollenbeck, B. E., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (1985). Child-rearing patterns in depressed, abusive, and normal mothers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 55, 237-251.
73.
Thase, M., & Page, R. A. (1977). Modeling of self-disclosure in laboratory and nonlaboratory settings. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 24, 35-40.
74.
Thompson, R. A., Christiansen, E. H., Jackson, S., & Wyatt, J. M. (1999). Parent attitudes and discipline practices: Profiles and correlates in a nationally representative sample. Child Maltreatment, 4, 316-330.
75.
Trickett, P. K., & Kuczynski, L. (1986). Children’s misbehaviors and parental discipline strategies in abusive and nonabusive families. Developmental Psychology, 22, 115-123.
76.
U.S. Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect. (1991). Creating caring communities: Blue-print for an effective federal policy on child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
77.
Wahler, R. G., Williams, A. J., & Cerezo, A. (1990). The compliance and predictability hypotheses: Sequential and correlational analyses of coercive mother-child interactions. Behavioral Assessment, 12, 391-407.
78.
Watson, D., & Clark, L. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465-490.
79.
Wekerle, C., & Wolfe, D. A. (1993). Prevention of child physical abuse and neglect: Promising new directions. Clinical Psychology Review, 13, 501-540.
80.
Whitmore, E. A. W., Kramer, J. R., & Knutson, J. F. (1993). The association between punitive childhood experiences and hyperactivity. Child Abuse & Neglect, 17, 357-366.
81.
Widom, C. S. (1989). Does violence beget violence? A critical examination of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 106, 3-28.
82.
Williamson, J., Borduin, C., & Howe, B. (1991). The ecology of adolescent maltreatment: A multilevel examination of adolescent physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 449-457.
83.
Wilson, S. R., & Whipple, E. E. (1995). Communication, discipline, and physical child abuse. In T. J. Socha & G. H. Stamp (Eds.), Parents, children and communication: Frontiers of theory and research (pp. 299-317). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
84.
Winebarger, A. A., Leve, L. D., Fagot, B. I., & May, P. (1993, April). Adult retrospective impressions of parenting behaviors. Paper presented at the annual convention of the Western Psychological Association, Tucson, AZ.
85.
Wolfe, D. A., Wekerle, C., Reitzel-Jaffe, D., Grasley, C., Pittman, A., & MacEachran, A. (1997). Interrupting the cycle of violence: Empowering youth to promote healthy relationships. In D. A. Wolfe, R. J. McNamara, & R. D. Peters (Eds.), Child abuse: New directions in prevention and treatment across the lifespan (pp. 102-129). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
86.
Worling, J. R. (1995). Adolescent sibling-incest offenders: Differences in family and individual functioning compared to adolescent nonsibling sex offenders. Child Abuse & Neglect, 19, 633-643.
87.
Zaidi, L. Y., & Foy, D. W. (1994). Childhood abuse experiences and combat-related PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 33-41.
88.
Zaidi, L. Y., Knutson, J. F., & Mehm, J. G. (1989). Transgenerational patterns of abusive parenting: Analog and clinical tests. Aggressive Behavior, 15, 137-152.
89.
Zoline, S. S., & Jason, L. (1985). Preventive parent education for high school students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 14, 119-123.
