Adolescents' perceptions of discipline within intact families and stepfamilies

This study examined adolescents' perceptions of discipline in intact famili es and stepfamilies. Forty-five adolescents, ranging in age from 15 to 19 y ears, completed the Adolescent Discipline Perception Survey (ADPS). They re sponded 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 p rivileges and grounding as the primary discipline methods used by their fam ilies. In addition, adolescents from intact families and stepfamilies repor ted house rules and peers as the most common discipline issues. Twenty-six percent of adolescents from intact families and 44% of those from stepfamil ies reported that grounding was the most severe form of punishment they had received.