ADOLESCENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF DISCIPLINE WITHIN INTACT FAMILIES AND STEPFAMILIES.
ABSTRACTThis study examined adolescents' perceptions of discipline in intact families and stepfamilies. Forty-five adolescents, ranging in age from 15 to 19 years, completed the Adolescent Discipline Perception Survey (ADPS). They responded to questions related to their own discipline experiences as well as their views on how they would discipline an adolescent. Results indicated that adolescents from intact families and stepfamilies identified loss of privileges and grounding as the primary discipline methods used by their families. In addition, adolescents from intact families and stepfamilies reported house rules and peers as the most common discipline issues. Twenty-six percent of adolescents from intact families and 44% of those from stepfamilies reported that grounding was the most severe form of punishment they had received.
The developmental transition from childhood to adolescence is marked by renegotiation of relationships and boundaries with parents and peers. During this time, adults must balance the challenges of providing adolescents with the opportunity to become autonomous while providing structure to guide them as they make decisions that can have far-reaching consequences. For some adolescents, the dynamics of living in a stepfamily adds another level of complexity.
A large body of research has been dedicated to investigating how relationships and family functioning change as children reach adolescence (Barnett, Quackenbush, & Sinisi, 1996; Bowles, Searight, Russo, Rogers, & Kleinman, 1997; Hastings & Grusec, 1997; Neiderhiser, Reiss, Hetherington, & Plomin, 1999). Researchers have explored the impact of conflict between parents and adolescents (Hastings & Grusec, 1997; Honess, Charman, Cicognani, Xerri, Jackson, & Bosma, 1997), parents' marital status and transitions in family structure (Spruijt & de Goede, 1997; Zick & Allen, 1996), and the relationship of family structure to adolescent high-risk behavior such as drug use (Jenkins & Zunguze, 1998) and early sexual activity (Dorius, Heaton, & Steffen, 1993; Rossi, 1997).
Another avenue of research has focused on the adjustment of adolescents in family structure transitions. Dornbusch, Carismith, Bushwall, Ritter, Leiderman, Hastorf, and Gross (1985) found that adolescents residing in stepfamilies were more at risk for problem behavior than were adolescents growing up in one-parent families. Steinberg (1996) reported that adolescents in stepfamilies found it difficult to adjust to a new authority figure in the family system and that their adjustment declined each time they faced family reorganization. Claxton-Oldfield (1992) reported that late adolescents labeled stepfathers' behavior as less justified and less excusable when they were in the role of disciplinarian.
While there is substantial literature on adolescents' relationships within various family systems, much less research has concentrated on the area of discipline from the adolescents' perspective. The purpose of the present study was to examine adolescents' perceptions of discipline in intact families and stepfamilies.
METHOD
Participants
Forty-five adolescents, ranging from 15 to 19 years old, participated in this study. Eighteen were high school students (grades 9-12) and 27 were first-year college students enrolled in a general education course. There were 30 females and 15 males. Thirty resided in intact families and 15 resided in stepfamilies. There were 43 Caucasians and 2 African Americans.
Questionnaire
Adolescents' attitudes and perceptions related to discipline were measured using an instrument created by the researchers: the Adolescent Discipline Perception Survey (ADPS). The questionnaire was developed based on the literature on discipline techniques and adolescent development. Participants responded to a series of questions on discipline, including their own experiences.
RESULTS
Participants were asked to indicate who they perceived as being their primary disciplinarian. Adolescents from intact families over-whelmingly identified fathers (62.5%) as primary disciplinarian, followed by mothers (37.5%), while the majority of those from stepfamilies reported mothers (57.1%), followed by stepfathers (28.6%) and biological fathers (14.3%) (see Table 1).
The adolescents also were asked to identify issues for which they would most likely be disciplined. Sixty-two percent of the adolescents from intact families and 66% of those from stepfamilies identified complying with house rules as a discipline issue. Peers were identified as another major discipline issue by adolescents from both intact families (38%) and stepfamilies (33%). Surprisingly, discipline issues related to school were reported by only 20% of the adolescents from intact families and 22% of those from stepfamilies. It is interesting to note that 22% of the adolescents from stepfamilies, but only 6% of those from intact families, identified family relationships as a discipline issue (see Table 2).
When asked to identify the most severe punishment they had ever received, 26% of the adolescents from intact families reported grounding, such as being restricted from leaving the home for a period of time, and 18% reported loss of privileges, such as not being able to use the phone, car, or internet. Interestingly, there were no adolescents from stepfamilies who reported the loss of privileges as the most severe punishment received, but 44% reported grounding. Both groups noted that they had experienced physical punishment (e.g., slapped) and punishment with an object (e.g., struck with a belt). For example, an adolescent from a stepfamily reported being slapped in the face for harassing a younger sibling. The percentages are shown in Table 3.
When asked why they had received their most severe punishment, 20% of the adolescents from intact families identified the issue of parent-child relations and 6% reported high-risk behavior, while 20% said they forgot what they had done to warrant such punishment. The percentages for adolescents from stepfamilies were as follows: parent-child relations (44%), family relations (11%) and school situations (11%). It is noteworthy that not one of the adolescents from stepfamilies "forgot" the context in which he or she was most severely punished.
The participants were also asked to name the worst way to discipline an adolescent. Approximately half indicated excessive physical punishment. In addition, 20% of the adolescents from intact families and 55% of those from stepfamilies indicated that excessive verbal punishment (e.g., lecturing, nagging) was the worst way to discipline an adolescent. Interestingly, 3% of the adolescents from intact families and 11% of those from stepfamilies noted that no discipline was the worst strategy (see Table 4).
When participants were asked how they would discipline an adolescent, loss of privileges was the strategy most frequently cited by those from both intact families (29%) and stepfamilies (55%). Additionally, 26% of those from intact families and 44% from stepfamilies would employ grounding. It is interesting to note that those from intact families (26%) and stepfamilies (33%) also indicated that lecturing was a verbal discipline technique they would use (see Table 5).
DISCUSSION
This study investigated adolescents' perceptions of discipline. Results indicated that adolescents in intact families and stepfamilies have some commonalities regarding their experiences with discipline. Consistent with their developmental tasks of forming peer friendships and establishing independence from family, adolescents in this study identified peer relations and obeying house rules as salient discipline issues. Twenty-two percent of those in stepfamilies also cited family relations, such as problems with siblings, stepsiblings, and stepparents. This finding is consistent with that of Hetherington et al. (1992), who posited that developing constructive parent-child relationships is the most formidable task of stepfamilies.
Adolescents from intact families most often identified their fathers as the primary disciplinarian. However, the majority of adolescents from stepfamilies identified their mothers as the primary disciplinarian. While stepfathers were identified as the primary disciplinarian more frequently than were biological fathers, these results could be due to custodial living arrangements and the amount of contact adolescents in stepfamilies have with their biological fathers. Hetherington et al. (1992) labeled stepfathers as "polite strangers" who often demonstrate a "disengaged parenting style" and make little attempt to discipline the adolescents in their stepfamilies.
Adolescents from intact families and stepfamilies reported similarities and differences in the discipline they had experienced. Both groups identified loss of privileges and grounding as the primary discipline methods used in their families. Grounding was most frequently reported as the most severe form of punishment they had received. While both groups reported having been physically punished, adolescents from stepfamilies were more likely to report receiving physical punishment and to perceive having received excessive physical punishment.
The adolescents identified loss of privileges and grounding as discipline techniques they would use with an adolescent-the same techniques their own parents often use with them. This finding is consistent with that of Barnett et al. (1996) and Wolfe, Katell, and Drabman (1982), who noted that children favor disciplinary strategies that are congruent with their parents' approach.
The findings of this study suggest that families play an integral role in adolescents' perceptions of, and attitudes toward, discipline. However, there are many unanswered questions. Future research should include youths from various cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as those in the early and late phases of adolescence. The perceptions of the parents themselves, within both intact families and stepfamilies, should also be examined.
The authors thank Patricia J. Morin for her helpful comments. Portions of this study were presented at the February, 1998, meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, Massachusetts.
Carla Milito and Nikki Costlow, Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University.
Reprint requests to Suzanne M. Morin, Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University, 201 Gilbert Hall, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 17257.
REFERENCES
Barnett, M., Quackenbush, S. W., & Sinisi, C. (1996). Factors affecting childrens', adolescents', and young adults' perceptions of parental discipline. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 157(4), 411-424.
Bowles, C., Searight, H., Russo, J., Rogers, B., & Kleinman, K. (1997). Perceived family functioning, psychological adjustment, and parent marital status: Further validity support for the Family of Origin Scale with adolescents. Family Therapy, 24(3), 133-141.
Claxton-Oldfield, S. (1992). Perceptions of stepfathers. Journal of Family Issues, 13(3), 378-389.
Dorius, G., Heaton, T., & Steffen, P. (1993). Adolescent life events and their association with the onset of sexual intercourse. Youth and Society, 25(1), 3-23.
Dornsbusch, S., Carlsmith, J., Bushwall, S., Ritter, P., Leiderman, P., Hastorf, A., & Gross, R. (1985). Single parents, extended households and the control of adolescents. Child Development, 56, 326-341.
Hastings, P., & Grusec, J. (1997). Conflict outcome as a function of parental accuracy in perceiving child cognitions and affect. Social Development, 6(1), 76-90.
Hetherington, E. M., Clingempeel, W. G., Anderson, E. R., Deal, J. E., Hagan, S. M., Hollier, E. A., & Linder, M. S. (1992). Coping with marital transitions: A family systems perspective. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 57(2-3, Serial No. 227).
Honess, T., Charman, E., Cicognani, B., Xerri, M., Jackson, A., & Bosma, H. (1997). Conflict between parents and adolescents: Variation by family constitution. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15, 367-385.
Jenkins, J., & Zunguze, S. (1998). The relationship of family structure to adolescent drug use, peer affiliation, and perception of peer acceptance of drug use. Adolescence, 33(132), 811-822.
Neiderhiser, J., Reiss, D., Hetherington, E., & Plomin, R. (1999). Relationships between parenting and adolescent adjustment over time: Genetic and environmental contributions. Developmental Psychology, 35(3), 680-692.
Rossi, A. (1997). The impact of family structure and social change on adolescents' sexual behavior. Children and Youth Services Review, 19(5/6), 369-400.
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Wolfe, D. A., Katell, A., & Drabman, R. S. (1982). Parents' and preschool children's choices of disciplinary childrearing methods. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 3, 167-176.
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Table 1 Adolescents' Perceptions of Their Primary Disciplinarian Intact Family Stepfamily (n = 30) (n = 15) Mother 37.5% 57.1% Father 62.5% 14.3% Stepfather - 28.6% Table 2 Issues That Resulted in Discipline for Adolescents Intact Family Stepfamily (n = 30) (n = 15) House Rules 62% 66% School 20% 22% Peers 38% 33% Family Relations 6% 22% High-Risk Behavior 6% 0% Parent-Child Relations 20% 11% Appearance 6% 11% Note. Multiple responses reported. Table 3 Most Severe Punishment That Adolescents Had Ever Received Intact Family Stepfamily (n = 30) (n = 15) Grounding 26% 44% Loss of Privileges 18% 0% Physical Punishment 20% 22% Excessive Physical Punishment 9% 11% Punishment with an Object 12% 11% Never Severely Punished 12% 11% Table 4 Adolescents' Perceptions of the Worst Discipline Strategy Intact Family Stepfamily (n = 30) (n = 15) Excessive Physical Punishment 47% 55% Physical Punishment 20% 11% Excessive Verbal Punishment 20% 55% Verbal Punishment 3% 11% Grounding 9% 0% Loss of Privileges 12% 0% No Discipline 3% 11% Note. Multiple responses reported. Table 5 How Adolescents Would Discipline an Adolescent Intact Family Stepfamily (n = 30) (n = 15) Loss of Privileges 29% 55% Grounding 26% 44% Verbal (Lecture) 26% 33% Physical Punishment 6% 0% No Discipline 6% 0% Note. Multiple responses reported.
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| Author: | Morin, Suzanne M.; Milito, Carla; Costlow, Nikki |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Adolescence |
| Geographic Code: | 1USA |
| Date: | Jun 22, 2001 |
| Words: | 2059 |
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