Parenting Practices and Violence, Youth Violence...

2
- ParentingPracticesand Violence,YouthViolence 503 hoWthe parenting of both perpetrators and victims may be better assessed and improved through educa- tion and support efforts. Jeffrey L. Edleson See also Custody, Contact. and Visitation: Relationship to Domestic Violence: Nonoffellding Parents of Maltreated Children; Parent-Child Interaction Therapy; Parent-Child TMlumaTherapy; Parenting Practices and Violence, Child Maltreatment; Parenting Practices and Violence. Youth Violence Further Readings Bancroft. L., & Silverman. j G (2002). The batTerer as parent. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage. Edleson, J. L., Mbilinyi. L. F.. & Shetty. S. (2003). Parenring in the context of domestic violence. San Francisco: Judicial Council of California. Retrieved from http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programslcfcc Edleson,1. L., & Williams. O. J. (Eds.), (2007). Parenting by men who batter women: New direr-tionsfor assessment and intervention. New York: Oxford University Press. Famj]y Violence Prevention Fund. (Producer). (n.d.). Breaking rhe cycle: Fathering after l'iolcnce: Curriculum guidelines and tools for batterer inten'ention programs [Videos and exercises on parenting for batterer intervention programs]. San Frdncisco: Author. Available <Ithttp://www.endabuse.org Hester. M.. & Radford, L. (2001). Overcoming mother blaming: Future directions for theory and research on mothering and domestic violence. [n S. A. Graham- Bermann & J. L. Edleson (Eds.), Domestic ~'iolence in the lives of children: The future of research. il/ten'cntion and social policy (pp. 135-156). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Scott. K.. & Root, 1. (2006). Responsible fathering: Intervention at the i11lersectionof woman abuse and child maltreatment [Three-pan online learning module on working with men who batter as parents]. Available at http://www.globalvp.umn.edu PARENTING PRACTICES AND VIOLENCE, YOUTH VIOLENCE Parenting practices refer to the methods and styles of parenting used to control and socialize children. includingdiscipline tactics. as well as supervision and monitoring of the child. In addition, parent-child inter- actions can also be evaluated in terms of the quality of the relationship. A consistent finding in the research literature is that certain parenting practices and parent- child relationships can increase the likelihood of youth violence and that the influence of these factors is par- ticularly salient for younger children. Because one of the strongest predictors of youth violence is early childhood aggression, it is important to address family factors related to the learning of aggression in child- hood to effectively prevent youth violence. ouality of the Parent-Child Relationship Children who experience rejection, neglect, or indiffer- ence from parents are more likely to display aggressive behavior. Neglectful or disengaged parents are unre- sponsive to the needs of children and demand little of them. Some evidencehas found tl1atneglected children actually show higher levels of subsequent violent behavior than physically abused children. One reason these children may engage in violence is to gain atten- tion from their parents. In contrast, parents who are warm. supportive, and responsive have children who are less aggressive.The quality of the parent-child rela- tionship also influences child aggression and violence by modifying the impact of parenting practices. Discipline practices Consistent discipline practices have been linked to lower levels of aggression and violence. ]n contrast problematic discipline practices and erratic expres- sions of anger promote aggression in children. Children become less inhibited about displaying aggression when discipline is inconsistent. In addition to learning theory accounts of this effect, another explanation is suggested by social control theory. Parents' use of harsh punishment is thought to prevent the internalization of moral standards by damaging the parent-child bond. Children who do not feel attached to their parents fail to internalize the parents' values and those of the society. resulting in poor self- control. Individuals with low self-control ignore potential long-term costs of aggressive behavior. corporal Punishment The use of corporal punishment has been associated with increased aggression in children, especially ~

Transcript of Parenting Practices and Violence, Youth Violence...

-ParentingPracticesandViolence,YouthViolence 503

hoWthe parenting of both perpetrators and victimsmaybe better assessed and improved through educa-tion and support efforts.

Jeffrey L. Edleson

See also Custody, Contact. and Visitation: Relationship toDomestic Violence: Nonoffellding Parents of MaltreatedChildren; Parent-Child Interaction Therapy; Parent-ChildTMlumaTherapy; Parenting Practices and Violence, ChildMaltreatment; Parenting Practices and Violence. YouthViolence

FurtherReadings

Bancroft. L., & Silverman. j G (2002). The batTerer as

parent. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.Edleson, J. L., Mbilinyi. L. F.. & Shetty. S. (2003). Parenring

in the context of domestic violence. San Francisco:Judicial Council of California. Retrieved from

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/programslcfccEdleson,1. L., & Williams. O. J. (Eds.), (2007). Parenting by

men who batter women: New direr-tionsfor assessment

and intervention. New York: Oxford University Press.Famj]y Violence Prevention Fund. (Producer). (n.d.).

Breaking rhe cycle: Fathering after l'iolcnce: Curriculum

guidelines and tools for batterer inten'ention programs

[Videos and exercises on parenting for battererintervention programs]. San Frdncisco: Author. Available

<Ithttp://www.endabuse.orgHester. M.. & Radford, L. (2001). Overcoming mother

blaming: Future directions for theory and research onmothering and domestic violence. [n S. A. Graham-Bermann & J. L. Edleson (Eds.), Domestic ~'iolence in the

lives of children: The future of research. il/ten'cntion and

social policy (pp. 135-156). Washington, DC: AmericanPsychological Association.

Scott. K.. & Root, 1. (2006). Responsible fathering:

Intervention at the i11lersectionof woman abuse and child

maltreatment [Three-pan online learning module onworking with men who batter as parents]. Available athttp://www.globalvp.umn.edu

PARENTING PRACTICES AND

VIOLENCE, YOUTH VIOLENCE

Parenting practices refer to the methods and styles ofparenting used to control and socialize children.includingdiscipline tactics. as well as supervision and

monitoring of the child. In addition, parent-child inter-actions can also be evaluated in terms of the quality ofthe relationship. A consistent finding in the researchliterature is that certain parenting practices and parent-child relationships can increase the likelihood of youthviolence and that the influence of these factors is par-ticularly salient for younger children. Because one ofthe strongest predictors of youth violence is earlychildhood aggression, it is important to address familyfactors related to the learning of aggression in child-hood to effectively prevent youth violence.

ouality of the Parent-Child Relationship

Children who experience rejection, neglect, or indiffer-ence from parents are more likely to display aggressivebehavior. Neglectful or disengaged parents are unre-sponsive to the needs of children and demand little ofthem. Some evidencehas found tl1atneglected childrenactually show higher levels of subsequent violentbehavior than physically abused children. One reasonthese children may engage in violence is to gain atten-tion from their parents. In contrast, parents who arewarm. supportive, and responsive have children whoare less aggressive.The quality of the parent-child rela-tionship also influences child aggression and violenceby modifying the impact of parenting practices.

Discipline practices

Consistent discipline practices have been linked tolower levels of aggression and violence. ]n contrastproblematic discipline practices and erratic expres-sions of anger promote aggression in children.Children become less inhibited about displayingaggression when discipline is inconsistent. In additionto learning theory accounts of this effect, anotherexplanation is suggested by social control theory.Parents' use of harsh punishment is thought to preventthe internalization of moral standards by damagingthe parent-child bond. Children who do not feelattached to their parents fail to internalize the parents'values and those of the society. resulting in poor self-control. Individuals with low self-control ignorepotential long-term costs of aggressive behavior.

corporal Punishment

The use of corporal punishment has been associatedwith increased aggression in children, especially

~

504 Parenting Practices and Violence. Youth Violence

among European Americans. Corporal punishmentincreases child aggression in various ways. First, whenparents resort to physical means of controlling andpunishing their children, they send a message thataggression is a normative, acceptable, and effectiveway to gain compliance. When corporal punishment isused in response to children's aggression, in essence,parents are punishing children with the very behaviorthey are trying to eliminate. This behavior, in turn,communicates to the child that it is acceptable to hitothers when they behave in ways they do not like.Second, the use of this disciplinary tactic leads toavoidance of the disciplinary figure, reducing parentalopportunities to direct and influence their child. Third,corporal punishment also promotes hostile attributionsthat, in turn, predict violent behavior. The way inwhich a child responds to a situation is a functionof how the child interprets social information.Experience with harsh treatment from parents resultsin children who are hypervigilant to hostile cues,attribute hostile intent to others, access more aggres-sion potential responses, and view aggression as a wayto attain social benefits.

One of the goals of parenting is to teach children tobehave independently in morally and socially accept-able ways. Attributing compliance to internal ratherthan external sources is an integral part of this process,and corporal punishment has been found to interferewith this process by promoting external attributions.Physical force by the parent provides external controlsto which children can attribute their compliance andtherefore can propel children to avoid misbehaviors toavoid future punishment, but physical force does notteach children the responsibility to behave indepen-dently in morally and socially acceptable ways. Thus,the child may never learn socially acceptable ways ofhandling situations and instead views violence as areasonable option for solving social conflicts.

Parental Monitoring

High parental monitoring is associated with lower lev-els of aggression, violence, and delinquency amongchildren and adolescents. Monitoring refers to parentsknowing where their children are, with whom they areassociating, and what they are doing. Good supervi-sion allows parents to respond appropriately to antis-ocial and delinquent behaviors and minimizes the

adolescents' contact with risky circumstances andactivities and deviant peers.

CulturalConsiderations

The cultural context of parenting plays a role in deter-mining the impact various parenting practices have onchildren. Among African American families, corporalpunishment is more common and is less likely to beassociated with child aggressive outcomes. This out-come is due to the message the parents send theirchildren during the discipline event. Among AfricanAmerican families, corporal punishment seems to berelatively accepted, parents believe that it is effective,and the message sent is that the parent cares about thechild. Among European American families, corporalpunishment generally is viewed less favorably andmay send the message that the parent is rejecting thechild. Thus, these different messages sent to the childcan result in a qualitatively different experience forthe child. Parental warmth is also expressed differ-ently in different cultures. Therefore, how messagesare communicated to the child may differ according tothe cultural context in which the child is reared.

Prevention of Youth Violence

Teaching parents effective methods of parenting hasbeen found to reduce child and adolescent delin-quency and aggression. Teaching parents to use con-sistent discipline and to monitor their children reducesbehavior problems in children. A more responsive,warm style of parenting has also been associated withlower levels of aggression in children. Preventiveefforts in early childhood are generally more effectivethan later timed interventions in reducing aggression.

Melinda S. Leidy and Nancy G Guerra

See also Caregivers and Violence; Child Exposure to IntimatePartner Violence; Child Neglect; Divorce and Relation toYouth Violence; Family Therapy and Family Violence

Further Readings

Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, H., Zelli, A., & Huesmann, L. R.

(1996). The relation of family functioning to violenceamong inner-city minority youth. Journal of FamilyPsychology, 10,115-129.