Maternal authoritative discipline techniques, effects on children's and mothers' ratings of compliance, internalization, self-esteem, fairness, and the mother-child relationship

grantor: University of TorontoThis study investigated the effects of the maternal discipline techniques of autonomy support, acknowledgment of negative feelings, reasoning, and firm control on children's and mothers' ratings of various child outcomes. Forty-eight 7-10 year old children, and their mothers, rated a child's self-esteem, present and future compliance, internalization, discipline fairness views, and mother-child relationship, in response to auditory vignettes. Children rated autonomy support as leading to the highest self-esteem (i.e. social worth and empowerment), short-term compliance, discipline fairness, and positive mother-child relationship. Internalization ratings were similar for autonomy support, acknowledgment of negative emotions, and reasoning. Mothers rated the acknowledgment of children's adverse feelings as highly as autonomy support with respect to positive effects on social worth, discipline fairness, and the mother-child relationship. Mothers also rated reasoning as leading to child compliance due to guilt, whereas children reported reasoning as leading to compliance due to fear of adverse repercussions. No differential disciplinary effects existed with respect to future compliance ratings, although explanations for future compliance and non-compliance were examined, and differed according to respondent and discipline technique presented. Children claimed future compliance would be due to fear following reasoning and the acknowledgment of feelings, whereas mothers said guilt and the child's feelings being acknowledged, respectively.M.A