Understanding the Determinants of Parental Decision-Making and Harsh Parenting Behavior

<p>The high prevalence and negative consequences of hash parenting among US parents is well-documented. However, intervention and prevention efforts aimed at reducing the rates of harsh parenting have had limited success. A goal of this paper was to provide a novel method of studying parenting behavior; moving beyond correlational findings. Specifically, I argued that preventing harsh parenting has been a challenge, in part because of lack of understanding of the decision-making processes underlying the behavior. In an effort to incorporate tradition decision making methodology, I designed a between subjects, single-blind, randomized experiment. The experimental manipulations were design to induced emotional and cognitive stress, mimicking the parenting experiences immediately prior to discipline decision making of new parents. Findings reviled that although the harshness of preferred discipline strategy for participants who were new to parenting was mostly impacted by distal factors (e.g., age, race, traditional beliefs about parenting); negative affect inducing conditions had an effect on their increase in preference for harsh parenting. Specific individual differences in the effect of cognitive-emotional strain are described. Methodological implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Maduro, Ralitsa Stoyneva

Contributors dc:contributor

• James F. Paulson (Director)
• Valerian Derlega
• Michelle L. Kelley
• Thomas J. Socha

• Decision making
• Parenting
• Situational stressors
• Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• <p>In Copyright. URI: <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/">http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/</a> This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).</p>

Identifier

9781369169409

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.odu.edu:psychology_etds-1030