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Associations between child disciplinary practices and bullying behavior in adolescents
Graziela A H Zottis1, Giovanni A Salum2, Luciano R Isolan1
1Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Porto Alegre, PR, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
Objective:
to investigate associations between different types of child disciplinary practices and children and adolescents' bullying behavior in a Brazilian sample.
Methods:
cross-sectional study, with a school-based sample of 10- to 15-year-old children and adolescents. Child disciplinary practices were assessed using two main subtypes: power-assertive and punitive (psychological aggression, corporal punishment, deprivation of privileges, and penalty tasks) and inductive (explaining, rewarding, and monitoring). A modified version of the Olweus Bully Victim Questionnaire was used to measure the frequency of bullying.
Results:
247 children and adolescents were evaluated and 98 (39.7%) were classified as bullies. Power-assertive and punitive discipline by either mother or father was associated with bullying perpetration by their children. Mothers who mostly used this type of discipline were 4.36 (95% CI: 1.87-10.16; p<0.001) times more likely of having a bully child. Psychological aggression and mild forms of corporal punishment presented the highest odds ratios. Overall inductive discipline was not associated with bullying.
Conclusions:
bullying was associated to parents' assertive and punitive discipline. Finding different ways of disciplining children and adolescents might decrease bullying behavior.
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