Bidirectional Relations Between Parents' Discipline Strategies and Children's Inhibitory Control From Early to Middle Childhood

Parents' use of harsh discipline and inductive discipline are theorized to change normatively across the transition from early to middle childhood (ages 5-7 years), with harsh discipline decreasing and inductive discipline increasing. Importantly, within-person support for these changes is lacking. Additionally, these changes are argued to be driven by improvements in children's cognitive and social abilities, including inhibitory control. The present study examined within-family bidirectional relations between parents' (primarily mothers') harsh discipline, inductive discipline, and children's inhibitory control across the transition to middle childhood. Participants were 118 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds and their primary caregivers. At two time points, separated by 12 months, parents completed a questionnaire about their use of harsh and inductive discipline, and children completed a battery of inhibitory control tasks. A latent change score model was used to examine within-family bidirectional relations. More inductive discipline at Time 1 was related to a decline in harsh discipline over the year for parents of 5- and 6-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds. Harsh discipline at Time 1 was not related to change in inductive discipline. Parental discipline was not related to the change in children's inhibitory control, nor was inhibitory control related to the change in parental discipline. Relations between inductive discipline and change in harsh discipline provide within-person support for expectations of normative change in parents' discipline strategies across the transition to middle childhood. Further research examining when parents of 4-year-olds make this transition and predictors of change in parental discipline will inform research of normative trajectories of parental discipline.