African American Mothers’ Disciplinary Responses: Associations with Family Background Characteristics, Maternal Childrearing Attitudes, and Child Manageability

Eighty-nine African American mothers of preschoolers reported on their levels of family stress, attitudes about and use of
specific disciplinary responses, and their expected outcomes for their children as a result of each type. Independently, teachers
reported on the children’s manageability in the preschool classroom. Results indicated that mothers reported more negotiation
than coercion. However, when mothers used coercion, they reportedly did so because they believed that it was the only way
that they could get their children to behave, negotiation was negatively associated with maternal endorsement of traditional
childrearing attitudes. On the other hand, mothers who experienced high levels of family stress tended to use privilege withdrawal
as their disciplinary method of choice. Although family income was generally unrelated to the study variables, lower income
and less educated mothers were less likely than other mothers to believe that spanking is associated with negative outcomes
for children. Overall, these results support the idea that African American parents’ conceptions of discipline are influenced
by individual family characteristics, such as stress, endorsement of traditional versus modern ideas of parenting, and expectations
about their children’s responses to specific disciplinary techniques.