corporal punishment

internalizing problems

physical punishment

parent adolescent

higher levels

cu traits

psychological control

externalizing behavior

effortful control

delinquency

Child Abuse & Neglect

This study examined the relations between parental harsh discipline (psychological aggression and corporal punishment) and adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors and the moderating effects of adolescents’ perceived normativeness of harsh discipline in Chinese society. Using a sample of 1158 Chinese middle-school students, our findings revealed that parental harsh discipline was associated with high levels of adolescent externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Adolescents’ perceived normativeness of psychological aggression buffered the association between parental psychological aggression and adolescents’ internalizing problem behaviors, whereas their perceived normativeness of corporal punishment buffered the association between parental corporal punishment and adolescents’ externalizing problem behaviors. The findings from the current study highlight the importance of considering how adolescents’ perceptions may influence the effects of parental harsh discipline on adolescent adjustment.

Parental harsh discipline and adolescent problem behavior in China: Perceived normativeness as a moderator