1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinally the influence of parental CP [corporal punishment] on externalizing and prosocial behaviors in children.» (p. 4)

Questions/Hypothèses :
«It was hypothesized that parental use of CP when the child is 41 months old would predict higher levels of externalizing behavior (physical aggression and conduct problems) and lower levels of prosocial behavior when the child is 5 years old. We also explored the moderating effects of child temperament, maternal depression, and positive parenting on these associations. Reflecting the weight of the literature to date on these variables, we predicted that “difficult” child temperament and maternal depression would strengthen the associations between parental CP and child externalizing and prosocial behaviors, but that positive parenting would not moderate these relationships.» (p. 4)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The participants were drawn from the databank of the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD), initiated in 1998 and coordinated by the Institute of Statistics of Québec. […] This article reports on data obtained from a subsample of 1,686 5‐year‐old children who had complete data on ratings of physical aggression, conduct problems, and prosocial behavior at age five. Approximately 72% of these children lived with both biological parents, 13% in a blended family, and 15% with a single‐parent (the mother in 96% of cases).» (p. 4)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«As we had expected, parental CP at 41 months was associated with both girls’ and boys’ physical aggression and conduct problems at age five. […] Positive parenting skills predicted lower levels of physical aggression among boys and girls, and lower levels of conduct problems among boys. […] However, among boys, positive parenting skills were associated with lower levels of conduct problems only in those families where CP had not been used at 41 months. […] Our findings support those of a growing number of studies indicating that parental warmth and support do not protect children against CP’s negative effects.» (p. 13) Moreover, «[t]hose girls whose parents had not used CP and had a higher level of positive parenting skills at 41 months engaged in more prosocial behaviors at age five. Further, those girls who [sic] parents had not used CP but whose mothers reported more depressive symptoms had higher prosocial scores at age five. The finding that girls exposed to maternal depression but not CP obtained higher prosocial behavior scores is consistent with those of some previous studies.» (p. 14)