Understanding the relationship between corporal punishment and adolescent externalizing problems: the roles of psychological distress and parent-child relationship.

Previous research has revealed that corporal punishment was a risk factor for adolescents' externalizing problems; however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that may mediate or moderate this association. This study examined the mediator of psychological distress and the moderator of the parent-child relationship in the association between corporal punishment and externalizing problems among Chinese adolescents. A sample of 728 Chinese adolescents was recruited from a cross-sectional survey conducted in senior high schools in Hebei, China. Results showed that depression and stress partially mediated the relationship between corporal punishment and externalizing problems. Besides, the direct effect of corporal punishment on adolescent externalizing problems was moderated by the quality of the parent-child relationship, with the effect being stronger for adolescents with lower quality of relationship with parents. The present study deepened our understanding of the mechanisms through which corporal punishment affected adolescents' externalizing problems. Practical implications of this study were also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Current Psychology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)