Conservative protestant child discipline: The case of parental yelling

Conservative Protestant child discipline has recently become the subject of considerable social research and public controversy. However, no systemati c empirical evidence has been brought to bear on conservative Protestant ra tes of parental yelling, which lye view as a key indicator of an authoritar ian style of parenting. We review parenting advice offered by conservative Protestant elites, who articulate child-rearing schemata grounded in both r eligious and psychological rationales for the discipline of youngsters. Not ably, conservative Protestant family specialists advocate corporal punishme nt while discouraging the parental use of yelling at children. Data drawn f rom the 1987-88 National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) indicate that conservative Protestant parents of preschoolers and school-age childre n are significantly less likely to report yelling at their children. Moreov er, the estimated effects of denominational affiliation on the parental use of yelling are partly mediated fly conservative theological views. We conc lude by calling for research that analyzes the effects of the distinctive c onservative Protestant approach to discipline on child well-being.