Date of Graduation

12-2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Psychology (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Behrend, Douglas A.

Committee Member

Bridges, Ana J.

Second Committee Member

Beike, Denise R.

Keywords

Psychology; Antisocial; Authority; Children; Containment; Intergenerational; Parenting

Abstract

Researchers have invoked a variety of theories when discussing the relation between children's orientation to authority and the development of antiSocial behavior (ASB). Here, the focus is children's sense of containment. Previous studies revealed an association between perceived containment and child externalizing behaviors. In this study, the degree to which a child's sense of containment is related to parents' level of ASB was examined. One hundred sixty aggressive children and their parents participated. I hypothesized that ineffective discipline would moderate the relation between parent ASB and child perceived containment. I expected to find an inverse relation between parents' level of ASB and their child's sense of containment, but only for those children whose parents tend to rely on ineffective discipline. No significant findings emerged. Thus, neither hypothesis was supported for this sample. The potential theoretical and methodological limitations related to these unexpected results are explored.

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