Childhood parental harsh discipline trajectories and adolescent well-being in China: A 9-year longitudinal study

Parental harsh discipline, such as psychological aggression and corporal punishment, is a key characteristic of authoritarian parenting and has negative implications for child development. The trajectory of discipline evolves with child development, especially during childhood, potentially leading to varied cumulative effects on their well-being in adolescence. This study examined (a) distinct trajectories of maternal and paternal harsh discipline from Grades 1 to 6 in China and (b) their cumulative effects on adolescent well-being from Grades 7 to 9. Separate models were created for mothers and fathers, reflecting their unique parenting roles. A total of 1,045 children and their parents participated. Latent class growth analyses identified the predominant trajectories of parental harsh discipline were at low and moderate levels; importantly, a greater proportion of fathers than mothers followed a low-increasing trajectory. Conditional growth models over 9 years revealed that higher or increasing levels of psychological aggression and corporal punishment predicted lower initial levels of adolescent subjective well-being. Furthermore, escalating maternal corporal punishment predicted slower growth in adolescents' self-esteem. These findings highlight the importance of subgroup differences and cultural context in understanding the cumulative effects of harsh discipline in childhood on adolescence well-being. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).