| Abstract: | 30 boys and 30 girls in each of 4 age groups (5 yrs 3 mo to 7 yrs 6 mo, 8 yrs 5 mo to 10 yrs 3 mo, 11 yrs 4 mo to 13 yrs 5 mo, and 15 yrs 8 mo to 18 yrs 9 mo) were asked to evaluate fathers' discipline techniques over a range of situations in which a culprit was described as having transgressed. The techniques consisted of induction, physical punishment, love withdrawal, and permissiveness. Evaluations were determined more by the nature of the child making the evaluation than by the type of situation. Whereas the youngest age group indicated no clear pattern of preferences for one technique over another, the 3 older age groups generally evaluated both induction and physical punishment more favorably than the other 2 techniques. In no age group was induction evaluated more highly than physical punishment for all situations. Boys generally evaluated fathers more favorably than did girls, particularly in their use of physical punishment in situations of simple disobedience and physical harm to self. For the youngest boys, self-reports of empathy were correlated with positive ratings of fathers' induction on the combined situations. The differential socialization behavior of fathers is discussed in terms of bidirectional processes. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
