VICTIM-ORIENTATED DISCIPLINE, INTERPERSONAL UNDERSTANDING AND GUILT

According to Hoffman's theory of moral internalisation, parents' victi m-orientated disciplinary strategies may stimulate a child to take ano ther's needs into account. To test this hypothesis a cross-lagged pane l design was used with two measurements within a time interval of two years. Data were gathered from 150 families. Victim-orientated discipl ine was related to a child's experience of guilt. Evidence for Hoffman 's hypothesis about long-term effects of parents' disciplinary strateg ies was not found. Some evidence was found for the hypothesis that a c hild's level of interpersonal understanding mediates between parental disciplinary strategies and a child's internalisation of moral norms.