A Longitudinal Study of Power-Assertive Discipline, Inductive Discipline and Preschoolers’ Anxiety

What is it about?

This study extended previous research on power-assertive discipline by showing that strong power-assertive discipline and mild power-assertive discipline are two distinct forms of discipline, which independently exert adverse impacts on preschoolers’ mental well-being. Further, this study demonstrated that the preschoolers’ trait forgiveness can protect them against anxiety in the face of mild power-assertive discipline.

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Why is it important?

Existing studies on parental discipline have largely focused on its effects on child’s compliance and internalization, with few studies on its emotional outcomes in children. This study assessed the predictive effects of parent reports of power-assertive discipline, inductive discipline, and preschoolers’ forgiveness on preschoolers’ anxiety symptoms in Hong Kong, China.