Disciplinary history, adult disciplinary attitudes, and risk for abusive parenting

In an attempt to identify factors that could contribute to intergenerationa l physical abuse, the specific childhood disciplinary experiences of adoles cents and young adults were assessed, and these childhood experiences were related to the subjects' assessment as to whether specific disciplinary tac tics were abusive or appropriate in child rearing Consistent with previous research, few maltreated persons viewed their own experiences as abusive. M oreover personal experience with a disciplinary event was associated with a decreased tendency to view that particular form of discipline as inappropr iate. Finally, a history of severe physical punishment, failure to acknowle dge an abusive history when it had occurred and adult attitudes regarding p hysical discipline were associated with selecting more punitive disciplinar y strategies when individuals were faced with child misbehavior in an analo g parenting task. (C) 2001 John Wiley (C) Sons, Inc.