Violence Exposure and the Association Between Young African American Mothers' Discipline and Child Problem Behavior
Received 11 August 2008; accepted 2 February 2009. published online 31 March 2009.
Objective
Children of adolescent mothers are at increased risk of violence exposure and behavior problems, which have been linked to mothers' disciplinary practices. This study examines how the effect of young African American mothers' discipline on their preschool-age children's externalizing and internalizing behavior varies by mother and child violence exposure.
Methods
A sample of 230 African American mothers who gave birth as adolescents and their 3- to 6-year-old children were recruited from community-based day care and primary health care sites in the Washington, DC, metropolitan region. In-person interviews were conducted by trained research assistants who administered standard survey instruments.
Results
Hierarchical regression models revealed an interaction effect such that adolescent mothers' harsh disciplinary practices, specifically physical discipline strategies, were positively associated with young children's internalizing and externalizing behavior in the context of high or moderate, but not low, maternal violence exposure.
Conclusions
Compared with less violence-exposed mothers, the harsh disciplinary practices of young African American mothers who have been exposed to high levels of violence are more strongly associated with their children's problem behavior. Practitioners should screen mothers for violence exposure in order to address potential issues of discipline and behavior problems.
Center for Clinical and Community Research, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC (Drs Mitchell, Lewin, Horn, and Joseph, and Ms Valentine), Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York (Dr Rasmussen), and Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Howard University School of Medicine, Washington, DC (Dr Sanders-Phillips)
Address correspondence to Stephanie J. Mitchell, PhD, Children's National Medical Center, Center for Clinical and Community Research, 111 Michigan Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010.
ABSTRACT