Page 34 - Disrupting the Transmission of Violence

INTRODUCTION

In child development literature, “coercive parenting” is described as the use of
“psychological control” in parenting to discipline or influence a child in a way that
takes advantage of the child’s wish for love and approval (Bergin, 2011). This type of

influence is further described as manipulative, because it involves using guilt, shaming,

withdrawal of affection, wounding with sarcasm, condescending remarks, and belittling,
or discounting the feelings or ideas of the child in order to ensure compliance from the
child. In the Jamaican context, research has shown that parents frequently use corporal

punishment, shaming, rejection, and humiliation to discipline and control their children

(Ricketts & Anderson, 2008; Smith & Moore, 2013). Such practices are similar to emotional
and physical abuse and the results are seen in the emotional and behavioural responses
of children, where they become angry, rebellious, develop anxiety and low self-esteem,

to name a few negative outcomes (Bergin, 2011).

In this chapter, we will explore some theoretical approaches that are related to parenting
practices: namely, Social Learning Theory and Ecological Systems Theory. We will also

look briefly at concepts related to the emotional, cognitive and behavioural response

to coercive parenting. Additionally, we will offer a brief discussion on positive parenting
practices.

Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory is based on the premise that children acquire behavioral strategies
that are modeled by observing significant others in their environment (Bandura, 1965).
The “Bobo doll” experiment that was conducted provided strong support for this assertion

(Bandura, 1963). This experiment was reinforced in an investigation on the emergence

of childhood disruptive behavior in the family context that was conducted by Patterson
(Patterson and Reid, 1984).

These investigations revealed that in families where parents exhibited low rates of positive

reinforcement and harsh discipline, aversive behavior was observed to be reciprocally
reinforcing between parents and children. This led to escalating levels of negative

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