Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-cfpbc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T07:47:59.066Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Longitudinal effects of maternal love withdrawal and guilt induction on Chinese American preschoolers’ bullying aggressive behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2019

Jing Yu Open the ORCID record for Jing Yu [Opens in a new window] ,
Charissa S. L. Cheah ,
Craig H. Hart ,
Chongming Yang  and
Joseph A. Olsen
Jing Yu
Affiliation:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Charissa S. L. Cheah*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA
Craig H. Hart
Affiliation:
School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Chongming Yang
Affiliation:
College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Joseph A. Olsen
Affiliation:
College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Charissa S. L. Cheah, Department of Psychology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250; E-mail: ccheah@umbc.edu.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Bullying has been understudied among preschool children, especially those from Chinese American families. Previous research has also neglected the dimensional effects of psychological control on child bullying development. This study examined two psychological control dimensions, love withdrawal and guilt induction, and their effects on children's bullying aggressive behavior using a longitudinal design. Participants were first-generation Chinese American mothers (N = 133; mean age [Mage] = 37.82) and their preschool children (Mage = 4.48). Chinese immigrant mothers reported their psychologically controlling parenting and teachers rated children's bullying aggressive behaviors in the school setting. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to establish the psychometric properties and cross-wave measurement equivalence of the study constructs. Cross-lagged structural equation modeling analysis indicated that maternal love withdrawal prospectively predicted more bullying aggressive behavior, whereas guilt induction predicted less bullying aggressive behavior in children 6 months later. These results held after controlling for the initial level of children's problem behaviors and demographic variables (child age, gender, and maternal education). For child effects, child bullying aggressive behavior predicted more maternal guilt induction over time but not love withdrawal. Our findings highlight the importance of construct specificity and cultural context in understanding associations between parenting and child development.

Keywords

aggressionbullyingguilt inductionlove withdrawalpsychological control
Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 31 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 1467 - 1475
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albrecht, A. K., Galambos, N. L., & Jansson, S. M. (2007). Adolescents’ internalizing and aggressive behaviors and perceptions of parents’ psychological control: A panel study examining direction of effects. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 673–684. doi: 10.1007/s10964-007-9191-5Google Scholar
Aunola, K., Tolvanen, A., Viljaranta, J., & Nurmi, J. E. (2013). Psychological control in daily parent–child interactions increases children's negative emotions. Journal of Family Psychology, 27, 453–462. doi: 10.1037/a0032891Google Scholar
Barber, B. K. (1996). Parental psychological control: Revisiting a neglected construct. Child Development, 67, 3296–3319. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01915.xGoogle Scholar
Bowes, L., Arseneault, L., Maughan, B., Taylor, A., Caspi, A., & Moffitt, T. E. (2009). School, neighborhood, and family factors are associated with children's bullying involvement: A nationally representative longitudinal study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 545–553. doi: 10.1097/CHI.0b013e31819cb017Google Scholar
Bowlby, J. (1988). A secure base: Parent–child attachment and healthy human development. New York, NY: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Casas, J. F., Weigel, S. M., Crick, N. R., Ostrov, J. M., Woods, K. E., Yeh, E. A. J., & Huddleston-Casas, C. A. (2006). Early parenting and children's relational and physical aggression in the preschool and home contexts. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 209–227. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2006.02.003Google Scholar
Cheah, C., & Rubin, K. (2004). European American and Mainland Chinese mothers’ responses to aggression and social withdrawal in preschoolers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 28, 83–94. doi: 10.1080/01650250344000299Google Scholar
Crick, N. R., Casas, J. F., & Mosher, M. (1997). Relational and overt aggression in preschool. Developmental Psychology, 33, 579–588. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.33.4.579Google Scholar
Curtner-Smith, M., Smith, P.K., & Porter, M. (2010). Family-level intervention with bullies and victims. In Vernberg, E. & Biggs, (Eds.), Preventing and treating bullying and victimization (pp. 75–106). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The ‘what’ and ‘why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227–268. doi: 10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01Google Scholar
Dix, T. (1992). Parenting on behalf of the child: Empathic goals in the regulation of responsive parenting. In Sigel, I. E., McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. V., Goodnow, J. J., Sigel, I. E., McGillicuddy-DeLisi, A. V., & Goodnow, J. J. (Eds.), Parental belief systems: The psychological consequences for children, 2nd ed. (pp. 319–346). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Farrington, D. P., Ttofi, M. M., & Lösel, F. (2011). School bullying and later criminal offending. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 21, 77–79. doi: 10.1002/cbm.807Google Scholar
Fu, A. S., & Markus, H. R. (2014). My mother and me: Why tiger mothers motivate Asian Americans but not European Americans. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 739–749. doi: 10.1177/0146167214524992Google Scholar
Fung, J., & Lau, A. S. (2012). Tough love or hostile domination? Psychological control and relational induction in cultural context. Journal of Family Psychology, 26, 966–975. doi: 10.1037/a0030457Google Scholar
Gower, A. L., Lingras, K. A., Mathieson, L. C., Kawabata, Y., & Crick, N. R. (2014). The role of preschool relational and physical aggression in the transition to kindergarten: links with social-psychological adjustment. Early Education and Development, 25, 619–640. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2014.844058Google Scholar
Greenfield, P. M., Keller, H., Fuligni, A., & Maynard, A. (2003). Cultural pathways through universal development. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 461–490. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.54.101601.145221Google Scholar
Grusec, J. E. (2008). What is the nature of effective parenting? It depends. In Kerr, M., Stattin, H., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (Eds.), What can parents do? New insights into the role of parents in adolescent problem behavior (pp. 240–257). West-Sussex, England: Wiley.Google Scholar
Hart, C. H., Ladd, G. W., & Burleson, B. R. (1990). Children's expectations of the outcomes of social strategies: Relations with sociometric status and maternal disciplinary styles. Child Development, 61, 127–137. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1990.tb02766.xGoogle Scholar
Hart, C. H., Nelson, D. A., Robinson, C. C., Olsen, S. F., & McNeilly-Choque, M. K. (1998). Overt and relational aggression in Russian nursery-school-age children: Parenting style and marital linkages. Developmental Psychology, 34, 687–697. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.34.4.687Google Scholar
Hart, C. H., & Robinson, C. C. (1996). Teacher Behavior Rating Scale. Unpublished teacher questionnaire, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.Google Scholar
Hartup, W. W. (1974). Aggression in childhood: Developmental perspectives. American Psychologist, 29, 336–341. doi: 10.1037/h0037622Google Scholar
Hastings, P. D., & Grusec, J. E. (1998). Parenting goals as organizers of responses to parent–child disagreement. Developmental Psychology, 34, 465–479. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.34.3.465Google Scholar
Haynie, D. L., Nansel, T., Eitel, P., Crump, A. D., Saylor, K., Yu, K., & Simons-Morton, B. (2001). Bullies, victims, and bully/victims: Distinct groups of at-risk youth. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21, 29–49. doi: 10.1177/0272431601021001002Google Scholar
Ho, D. Y. F., Fu, W., & Ng, S. M. (2004). Guilt, shame and embarrassment: Revelations of face and self. Culture & Psychology, 10, 64–84. doi: 10.1177/1354067X04044166Google Scholar
Hoffman, M. L., & Saltzstein, H. D. (1967). Parent discipline and the child's moral development. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 45–57. doi: 10.1037/h0024189Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1998). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118Google Scholar
Huitsing, G., & Monks, C. P. (2018). Who victimizes whom and who defends whom? A multivariate social network analysis of victimization, aggression, and defending in early childhood. Aggressive Behavior, 44, 294–405. doi: 10.1002/ab.21760Google Scholar
Juvonen, J., Graham, S., & Schuster, M. A. (2003). Bullying among young adolescents: The strong, the weak, and the troubled. Pediatrics, 112, 1231–1237. doi: 10.1542/peds.112.6.1231Google Scholar
Kochanska, G. (1993). Toward a synthesis of parental socialization and child temperament in early development of conscience. Child Development, 64, 325–347. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1993.tb02913.xGoogle Scholar
Kretschmer, T., Veenstra, R., Deković, M., & Oldehinkel, A. J. (2017). Bullying development across adolescence, its antecedents, outcomes, and gender-specific patterns. Development and Psychopathology, 29, 941–955. doi: 10.1017/S0954579416000596Google Scholar
Kumpfer, K., Magalhães, C., & Xie, J. (2017). Cultural adaptation and implementation of family evidence-based interventions with diverse populations. Prevention Science, 18, 649–659. doi: 10.1007/s11121-016-0719-3Google Scholar
Kuppens, S., Grietens, H., Onghena, P., & Michiels, D. (2009). Relations between parental psychological control and childhood relational aggression: Reciprocal in nature? Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38, 117–131. doi: 10.1080/15374410802575354Google Scholar
Lereya, S. T., Samara, M., & Wolke, D. (2013). Parenting behavior and the risk of becoming a victim and a bully/victim: A meta-analysis study. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37, 1091–1108. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.03.001Google Scholar
Limber, S. P., Olweus, D., & Luxenberg, H. (2013). Bullying in US schools: 2012 status report. Center City, MN: Hazelden Foundation.Google Scholar
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 1198–1202. doi: 10.1080/01621459.1988.10478722Google Scholar
McCabe, K. (2012). Chinese immigrants in the United States. Migration Information Source (ISSN No. 1946-40370). Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.Google Scholar
Michiels, D., Grietens, H., Onghena, P., & Kuppens, S. (2008). Parent-child interactions and relational aggression in peer relationships. Developmental Review, 28, 522–540. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2008.08.002Google Scholar
Monks, C. P., & Smith, P. K. (2006). Definitions of bullying: Age differences in understanding of the term, and the role of experience. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24, 801–821. doi: 10.1348/026151005X82352Google Scholar
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (1998–2012). Mplus user's guide (7th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.Google Scholar
Nelson, D. A., & Coyne, S. M. (2009). Children's intent attributions and feelings of distress: Associations with maternal and paternal parenting practices. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 37, 223–237. doi: 10.1007/s10802-008-9271-3Google Scholar
Nelson, D. A., Coyne, S. M., Swanson, S. M., Hart, C. H., & Olsen, J. A. (2014). Parenting, relational aggression, and borderline personality features: Associations over time in a Russian longitudinal sample. Development and Psychopathology, 26, 773–787. doi: 10.1017/S0954579414000388Google Scholar
Nelson, D. A., Hart, C. H., Yang, C., Olsen, J. A., & Jin, S. (2006). Aversive parenting in China: Associations with child physical and relational aggression. Child Development, 77, 554–572. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00890.xGoogle Scholar
Nelson, D. A., Mitchell, C., & Yang, C. (2008). Intent attributions and aggression: A study of children and their parents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36, 793–806. doi: 10.1007/s10802-007-9211-7Google Scholar
Nelson, D. A., Yang, C., Coyne, S. M., Olsen, J. A., & Hart, C. H. (2013). Parental psychological control dimensions: Connections with Russian preschoolers’ physical and relational aggression. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 34, 1–8. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2012.07.003Google Scholar
Olsen, S. F., Yang, C., Hart, C. H., Robinson, C. C., Wu, P., Nelson, D. A., … Wo, J. (2002). Maternal psychological control and preschool children's behavioral outcomes in China, Russia, and the United States. In Barber, B. K. (Ed.), Intrusive parenting: How psychological control affects children and adolescents (pp. 235–262). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Olweus, D. (1993). Bullies on the playground: The role of victimization. In Hart, C.H. (Ed.), Children on playgrounds: Research perspectives and applications (pp. 85–128). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Pena, E. D. (2007). Lost in translation: Methodological considerations in cross-cultural research. Child Development, 78, 1255–1264. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01064.xGoogle Scholar
Price, J. M., & Dodge, K. A. (1989). Reactive and proactive aggression in childhood: Relations to peer status and social context dimensions. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 17, 455–471. doi: 10.1007/BF00915038Google Scholar
Rajendran, K., Kruszewski, E., & Halperin, J. M. (2016). Parenting style influences bullying: A longitudinal study comparing children with and without behavioral problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57, 188–195. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12433Google Scholar
Revelle, W., & Zinbarg, R. E. (2009). Coefficients alpha, beta, omega, and the glb: Comments on Sijtsma. Psychometrika, 74, 145–154. doi: 10.1007/s11336-008-9102-zGoogle Scholar
Rohner, R. P., Khaleque, A., & Cournoyer, D. E. (2005). Parental acceptance-rejection: Theory, methods, cross-cultural evidence, and implications. Ethos, 33, 299–334. doi: 10.1525/eth.2005.33.3.299Google Scholar
Rote, W. M., & Smetana, J. G. (2017). Situational and structural variation in youth perceptions of maternal guilt induction. Developmental Psychology, 53, 1940. doi: 10.1037/dev0000396Google Scholar
Rubin, K. H., Coplan, R. J., & Bowker, J. C. (2009). Social withdrawal in childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 141–171. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163642Google Scholar
Rudy, D., & Halgunseth, L. C. (2005). Psychological control, maternal emotion and cognition, and child outcomes in individualist and collectivist groups. Journal of Emotional Abuse, 5, 237–264. doi: 10.1300/J135v05n04_04Google Scholar
Rudy, D., Carlo, G., Lambert, M. C., & Awong, T. (2014). Undergraduates’ perceptions of parental relationship-oriented guilt induction versus harsh psychological control: Does cultural group status moderate their associations with self-esteem? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45, 905–920. doi: 10.1177/0022022114532354Google Scholar
Salmivalli, C. (2010). Bullying and the peer group: A review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15, 112–120. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2009.08.007Google Scholar
Salmivalli, C., Peets, K., Hodges, E.V.E. (2011). Bullying. In Smith, P.K. & Hart, C.H. (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of childhood social development (pp. 510–511). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell Publishers.Google Scholar
Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Goosens, L., Duriez, B. & Niemiec, C. P. (2008). The intervening role of relational aggression between psychological control and friendship quality. Social Development, 17, 661–681. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00454.xGoogle Scholar
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Briggs, R. D., McClowry, S. G., & Snow, D. L. (2009). Maternal control and sensitivity, child gender, and maternal education in relation to children's behavioral outcomes in African American families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30, 321–331. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2008.12.018.Google Scholar
US Census Bureau. (2016). Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: May 2016. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2016/cb16-ff07.htmlGoogle Scholar
van Noorden, T. H., Haselager, G. J., Lansu, T. A., Cillessen, A. H., & Bukowski, W. M. (2016). Attribution of human characteristics and bullying involvement in childhood: Distinguishing between targets. Aggressive Behavior, 42, 394–403. doi: 10.1002/ab.21634Google Scholar
Vlachou, M., Andreou, E., Botsoglou, K., & Didaskalou, E. (2011). Bully/victim problems among preschool children: A review of current research evidence. Educational Psychology Review, 23, 329–358. doi: 10.1007/s10648-011-9153-zGoogle Scholar
Winsler, A., Madigan, A. L., & Aquilino, S. A. (2005). Correspondence between maternal and paternal parenting styles in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.01.007Google Scholar
Wolke, D., & Samara, M. M. (2004). Bullied by siblings: Association with peer victimisation and behaviour problems in Israeli lower secondary school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 1015–1029. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.t01-1-00293.xGoogle Scholar
Wolke, D., Woods, S., Bloomfield, L., & Karstadt, L. (2000). The association between direct and relational bullying and behaviour problems among primary school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41, 989–1002.Google Scholar
Wu, P., Robinson, C. C., Yang, C., Hart, C. H., Olsen, S. F., Porter, C. L., … & Wu, X. (2002). Similarities and differences in mothers' parenting of preschoolers in China and the United States. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26, 481–491. doi: 10.1080/01650250143000436Google Scholar
Yu, J., Cheah, C. S. L., Hart, C. H., Sun, S., & Olsen, J. A. (2015). Confirming the multidimensionality of psychologically controlling parenting among Chinese-American mothers. Love withdrawal, guilt induction, and shaming. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39, 285–292. doi: 10.1177/0165025414562238Google Scholar
Yu, J., Cheah, C. S., Hart, C. H., & Yang, C. (2018). Child inhibitory control and maternal acculturation moderate effects of maternal parenting on Chinese American children's adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 54, 1111–1123. doi: 10.1037/dev0000517Google Scholar
Yu, J., Sun, S., & Cheah, C. S. L. (2016). Multi-trait multi-method analysis of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Asian-American preschoolers. Assessment, 23, 603–613. doi: 10.1177/1073191115586459Google Scholar