L. Peterson et al., ROLE OF PARENTAL ANGER IN LOW-INCOME WOMEN - DISCIPLINE STRATEGY, PERCEPTIONS OF BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS, AND THE NEED FOR CONTROL, Journal of clinical child psychology, 23(4), 1994, pp. 435-443
Examined anger and other variables known to be related to physical abu
se by describing common child-rearing challenges to 199 low-income mot
hers and observing relations among their responses. Maternal anger var
ied extensively across the situations explored, and it was significant
ly related to the use of physical discipline in one third of the situa
tions sampled. Anger was also positively related to perceived frequenc
y of child behavior problems, and tendency to use physical discipline
increased with number of perceived behavior problems. Child behaviors
that underlined a challenge to the mothers' control (e.g., defiance or
disobedience of a direct command) provoked the most anger. The implic
ations of these findings for abuse prevention and positive parenting i
nterventions for low-income families are discussed.